Things I Learned at U.S. Cellular Field

As the White Sox host the Twins tonight for a one game playoff, I figured it was a perfect time to post my lastest Things I Learned!

White Sox 8, Indians 11

1. The history of the White Sox. Prior to the start of the game, the video board ran a five minute mini-documentary on the history of the White Sox, reviling in the championships won, most recently coming in 2005, flaunting the former star players and managers, excluding the 1918 debacle and culminating with highlights of the current White Sox team. When the video ended, the White Sox ran onto the field, making me think that was one of the greatest openings of any game I’ve attended.

2. Every Stadium should have 2 for 1 hot dog special. I can’t be the only person who only eats hot dogs at ballparks. I may add fries to that order (especially if they’re crab fries) but I cannot go to a ballgame without having a hot dog, which made two for one hot dog an amazing special. According to the guy next to us, two for one hot dog is an everyday occurrence if you get to the Stadium early, so why doesn’t every other Stadium offer this?

3. Aaron Rowand is still alive and well in ChiSox fans hearts. I know that jerseys are expensive and even if you’re favorite player gets traded to say the Phillies and moves onto the Giants during free agency, you may not financially be in a place to purchase a Jim Thome or Paul Konerko jersey, but it was nice to see the three Rowand jerseys floating around the Stadium not to mention the tribute to the 2005 team, which he was a member of. Now if only Pat Gillick could have coughed up the cash for him in Philly…

4. Kansas City is your friend. At the time, the White Sox were trailing the Twins by a half game in the NL Central with Minnesota in the midst of their series with Kansas City. The White Sox fans needed the Royals to win if their hopes of a post-season were to remain alive. As it turned out, the Royals pounded the Twins and with each Royal run, the crowd roared and the four Royals fans seated in the section to the left of me stood up and basked in their lowly Kansas City’s glory.

5. Nick Swisher is a man of the people. As some background, I was seated in the final section of the bleachers, closest to the real seats and White Sox bullpen. Nick Swisher was playing left field and everytime he would run out to left, the fans would cheer him. Even as the score turned strongly in the Indians favor, people’s admiration for Swish never swayed. They would comment on the White Sox gloom, “Swish it hurts us too.” But it was never said in a demeaning way. At one point, the crowd cheered Nick and he turned to the crowd and pointed, like he was saying “I love you guys too.” I’ve never seen a group of fans treat a player in such a manor before! Admittedly, it was kind of nice to see.

6. It was not a good night to be a shortstop. Between the Indians and White Sox, Asdrubal Cabrera and Orlando Cabrera, the two shortstops combined for three errors in the game.

7. It was also not a good night to be a White Sox pitcher. At the rate Manager Ozzie Guillen was bringing in relievers, I was thinking that they would soon need to start taking fans from the crowd and bring them in to pitch and that those fans may do a better job than John Danks, D.J. Carrasco, Mike MacDougal and Horacio Ramirez who gave up 11 earned runs in six and a third innings. (Carrasco did not even record an out before giving up two runs in the fifth.)

8. You’re never out of it. When the guy seated next to us was talking about how U.S. Cellular Field was a launching pad, I thought, I’m sure they give up a lot of homeruns, but I’ve been to Citizens Bank Park, a 10 year old could hit a ball out of there. But boy was I wrong, five players including Ryan Garko who hit a grand slam in the fifth, went deep. And a homerun hit by Jermaine Dye ended up falling a row in front of me, making it the closest I’ve ever come to bringing home a baseball. Because of the frequency of long balls, the five run lead the Indians had amassed by the bottom of the fifth did not seem insurmountable.

9. Although if you’re the White Sox, you found ways to give it away. Whether it was wild pitches, balks or hitting batters, the White Sox found unusual ways to get the Indians on base.

10. Fireworks are amazing. After the game ended and the Indians celebrated on the field and then the Stadium went completely dark. I started to think, ok sore loser, way to not even let the fans out before you turn the lights off. But instead I bared witness to the magic that is fireworks night. Our vantage point was fantastic, in the outfield in between the 1906/1917 banner and the 2005 banner. As the fireworks lightened the dark sky, the banners seemed to almost glow.

For more photos from the game click here.

Bonus Baseball

Baseball Update:
Alexei Ramirez's grand slam in the sixth inning broke up a 2-2 tie and turned out to be the game winner for the White Sox who advanced to a one game playoff against the Twins with their 8-2 victory.

The Brewers have decided to use Yovani Gallardo as their starting pitcher for Game 1 of the NLDS. He'll be facing Phillies ace Cole Hamels.

Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew are expected to be in the lineup for Game 1 of the Red Sox series against the Angels.

The Yankees closer Mariano Rivera will undergo shoulder surgery but is expected to be ready to go by spring training.

Indians catcher Kelly Shoppach had knee surgery on Monday.

The Cardinals have signed pitcher Kyle Lohse to a four year deal worth $41 million, while the Tigers have stated they will not exercise SS Edgar Renteria's 2009 option and the Marlins dropped Sergio Mitre.

Coaching Update: Bud Black will stick with the Padres...while the Rangers Bench coach Art Howe and third-base coach Matt Walbeck will not...Pirates pitching coach Jeff Andrews and first base coach Lou Frazier are out of a job...And everyone but manager Manny Acta and pitching coach Randy St. Claire will be on the umeployment line in Washington.

The Blue Jays will in the market for a new team president after Paul Godfrey announced his resignation effective at the end of 2008.

2008 produced the lowest total of homeruns since 1993, the last year the Yanks were not in the playoffs. Miracle upon miracles, it seems baseball has somehow survived these two power outtages!

Nascar Update:
Congrats to Jimmie Johnson who won on Sunday in Kansas. The win vaulted him to the front of the points standings. Click here for the updated Chase standings.

Paul Menard will reportedly leave DEI and sign with Yates Racing.

Nascar is close to locking up a naming sponsor for its Truck Series and it's looking like it's going to be Camping World.

Petty Enterprise maybe close to squeezing out Kyle Petty. Goodness knows this should have been done a long time ago, there is no reason he should be driving a car, he's much better as a race analyst and car owner.

News&Notes: The Steelers stormed back in their ugly throwback uniforms to stun the Ravens, 23-20 in OT...Jaguars OT Richard Collier who was shot in early September is reportedly paralyzed from the incident and had to have one of his legs amputiated. So sad...The NFL has suspended Jets safety Eric Smith for one game for his head-to-head hit on Caridnals reciever Anquan Boldin...The Rams fired head coach Scott Linehan...Can Lane Kiffin be next? Can they just fire him already because this will they are won't they stuff becomes very embarassing for the team more so than the coach...Randy Pfund resigned as GM of the Miami Heat. Team President Pat Riley will take over his duties...The Blackhawks have placed goalie Nikolai Khabibulin on waivers...Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar will miss four to six months after undergoing surgery on his dislocated shoulder.

Check this out: I'm absolutely in love with a little show on the CW called Privileged. It's smart, it's funny and it stars the adorable JoAnna Garcia (Reba). Plus it has three very good looking possible love interests for Ms. Smith (Garcia) including Charlie Hogan (Michael Cassidy who was Zach, Summer's boyfriend in the second season of The OC) and Will Phillips (Brian Hallisay). So if you've never watched an epsiode, click here to catch up and don't forget to tune into the CW tonight at 9 PM/est to catch an all new episode!

Strange Brew: The 2008 MLB Playoff Update

News from over the weekend:
For the second year in a row, Sunday will not mark the final game of the regular season after the White Sox defeated the Indians, 5-1. Couple their win with Minnesota's 6-0 win over the Royals and the two teams stand a half game a part in the NL Central. Normally that would signal the Twin's trip to the playoffs, however, the White Sox are still one game short of playing a full season and will make-up a rainout with the Tigers on Monday. If the White Sox win, the Twins and Sox will play a one game playoff to decide who will go to Tampa to take on the Rays. Got it?

Also for a second straight season, the Mets will be watching the playoffs from the sidelines after falling to the Marlins, 4-2. The Mets had entered the game tied for the NL Wild Card, but CC Sabathia delivered his 10th complete game of the season holding the Cubs to just one run, while Ryan Braun launched the game winning two run homer to give the Brewers the 3-1 win and it's first trip to the postseason since 1982. To put this into perspective Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun were not even born yet and Rickie Weeks, Corey Hart and J.J. Hardy were less than a year old the last time Milwaukee hosted a playoff game.

The Mets also missed out on the NL East after the Phillies clinched on Saturday with a 4-3 win over the Nationals.

Teams in:
NL East: Phillies
NL Central: Cubs
NL West: Dodgers
NL Wild Card: Brewers

AL East: Rays
AL Central: White Sox/Twins
AL West: Angels
AL Wild Card: Red Sox

Except for the AL Central, all other playoff spots have been earned. Click here for the postseason schedule which gets underway on Wednesday at 3 PM as the Phillies host the Brewers.

Injury Updates:
Red Sox - Josh Beckett injured his oblique throwing a bullpen session on Friday and his start has been pushed back to Game 3, moving Jon Lester up to pitch game one.

Brewers - Ben Sheets says he's done for the season.

Dodgers - Reliever Hong-Chih Kuo will not pitch in the NLDS

Cubs - Mark DeRosa (calf) says he should be ready to go for Game 1 of the NLDS.

Fast Break

With only a few more days left in the baseball season, I’ll unfortunately be on vacation and unable to comment on the latest updates in the AL Central, NL East, NL West and Wild Card races. But check back on Monday for my complete wrap of the baseball season (you know barring any tie breakers) and my latest things I learned post about US Cellular Field.

In the meantime, don’t forget to catch up with my other blogs:

PIMC-Blotter
PIMC-Braves Blog

And on Thursday, remember to catch “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” at 10 PM/est on FX. Click here if you missed last week's episodes or if your in the mood to fall off your seat laughing!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

The little to no sleep edition

Baseball Update:
The Cubs clinched the best record in the NL, guaranteeing them homefield advantage through the NL playoffs with their 9-5 bashing of the Mets. Cubs pitcher Jason Marquis had a grand slam and drove in five runs in the win. The loss places Milwaukee a game behind New York in the Wild card as the Brewers start a three game sereis with the Pirates and the Mets continue their four game series with the Cubs.

The Phillies magic number was reduced to four after Pat Burrell broke open a two run tie with a three run homer in the eighth inning. The Phils went on to beat the Braves, 6-2.

The Rays may already have clinched a playoff spot, but they are just four games away from clinching the AL East title after beating the Orioles, 4-2.

The Red Sox once again failed to clinch a playoff birth after falling to the Indians, 4-3. Don't worry, I'm sure the champagne will taste just the same a day later.

Because it took place on Saturday, I didn't really make mention of the brawl between the Indians and the Tigers. (Video here) The fracas cost Indians pitcher Fausto Caromna six games and Tiger slugger Gary Sheffield four games. Good thing neither team is in contention for much of anything.

The Tigers spent a lot of money in the off-season and look where it got them 71-84 and 15 games behind the White Sox...so about nowhere. With these results in mind, manager Jim Leyland says not to expect any big name signings this off-season.

With their 4-3 edging of the Rangers, the A's have moved into second place in the AL West, a distant 22 games behind the Angels. In other Oakland news, they will not make up their rainout with the Orioles since it is not relevant to the playoff chase and frankly 161 games were painful enough for both teams fans to sit through without the horror of an additional game.

Speaking of the Angles, Francisco Rodriguez picked up his 61st save of the season as LA rallied past the Mariners, 2-1.

Brandon Webb's 22nd win could not come at a better time, putting the Diamondbacks just two games behind the idle Dodgers with six more games to go.

With a week remaining the season, their are four races remaining for a playoff spot. Of those spots, one could be decided by Thursday as the Twins battle the White Sox in Minnesota. The Twins trail the ChiSox by 2.5 games going into this series and a Chicago sweep could put an end to Minnesota's dreams of postseason glory.

Cooperstown will be filled with a few mementos from the final game at Yankee Stadium including Jose Molina's spikes he wore as he hit the final homer there and the bat Johnny Damon used to hit the second to last homerun, which was actually Xavier Nady's so I hope he doesn't mind.

While Cooperstown got a bunch of pieces of the Stadium to share with the public, the 18 people who tried to take thier own mementos got booked on possession of stolen property instead.

Nascar Update:
Brad Keselowski will attempt two Sprint Cup races for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008.

AJ Allmendinger will be replaced in the #84 car by Scott Speed. I think this is a bad decision. A) Allmendinger was put into his seat too early and was not given the equipment to make races and gain experience and has been really improving this season and B) I don't know how long Speed will stay around Nascar if given the opportunity to go elsewhere.

Sitting 210 points out with eight races remaining, its easy to understand why Kyle Busch feels that his Championship hopes are done. But I'm saying not so fast my young friend. It's not going to be easy, and it's highly unlikely, but a former teammate of Bucsh's Jimmie Johnson could prove to be a very good role model in times like these.

News&Notes: PIMC fave, Jeremy Shockey will be out 3-6 weeks because of a sports hernia...Never have I heard of so many spleen injuries. First it's Chris Simms, then it's Sean Avery and now it's Al Harris who suffered a torn spleen and will be out for the remainder of the season...Lane Kiffin still has a job but if it were up to Tom Ford, Jr. Lions head coach Matt Millen would not...The Knicks Stephon Marbury era could soon be over.

Check this out: The TV season kicked off yesterday with the premiere of Heroes, How I Met Your Mother, Dancing with the Stars and CSI: Miami. Tonight the networks bring you premieres of NCIS, The Mentalist, Without a Trace and Law & Order:SVU. And while this show is premiering tonight, I ask that you give Privileged a shot. It maybe on the CW, but it has heart, it's funny and very sweet. Plus Joanna Garcia is rebounding nicely from the weird CBS sitcom she was in last year. Check it out at 9 PM/est! And click here to watch the first two episodes.

Separated at Birth

it will feel better in the morning

Baseball Update:
Three teams clinched a playoff birth over the weekend. The Cubs and Rays pulled out the champagne on Saturday while the Red Sox popped the bubbly on Sunday after defeating the Blue Jays, 3-0. Dice-K remains unbeaten on the road this season.

With a week to go, four playoff spots remain open and the Mets bullpen continues to stumble like it did on Sunday against the Braves, they may not get one. Jeff Francoeur maybe turning things around after knocking the game wining triple to left which scored Brent Lillibridge to give the Braves a one run lead. They would eventually win 7-6.

Brad Lidge earned is 40th save of the season as the Phillies rolled by the Marlins, 5-2. Chase Utley hit his 32nd homer of the season and the Phillies tied a franchise record of hitting at least one homer in 17 consecutive games.

The Brewers won just their fifth game in their last 20 starts, bashing the Reds, 8-1. Prince Fielder continues to be their September MVP, homering once and driving in three runs in the victory. With the Mets loss and the Phillies win, the Phillies have opened up a game and a half lead over New York, while Milwaukee trails the Mets by a game and a half.

Even without a guarantee of a playoff birth, the Mets have already won something...a coin toss. If the Mets and Brewers need an extra game to decide who gets to play in October, the game will be held at Shea Stadium.

The Twins earned a split with the Rays on the strength of Francisco Liriano's seven strong innings. However, Minnesota remains a two and half games behind the White Sox as Chicago blanked Kansas City, 3-0.

The final playoff battle between the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks just got a little closer after LA suffered a heart breaking loss to the Giants, 1-0 (11) and the D'backs pounded the Rockies, 13-4. Arizona sits two and a half games behind the Dodgers with a week of play to go.

Ryan Dempster collected his 17th win of the season as the Cubs handled the Cards, 5-1. Dempster and a crew of back-ups moved the Cubs one game from clinching home field advantage in the NLDS and NLCS.

While the Astros picked up a 6-2 victory over the Pirates, they are not very happy right now. Houston players remain very upset about the Chicago Cubs series that was moved to Milwaukee just hours after their Hurricane Ike decimated the Houston area.

The Pirates and number 2 pick Pedro Alvarez have reportedly come to an agreement on a deal that would guarantee him $6.4 million.

Hideki Matsui's season has come to a close a bit early. The Yankee slugger will undergo knee surgery on Monday.

Nascar Update:
Greg Biffle is two for two in Chase races this season after winning the World RV 400 at Dover. Kyle Busch, the heavy favorite entering the Chase, finished dead last and now sits 210 points out of first place. Click here for the updated standings.

Nascar has fired two officials who were named in the Mauricia Grant law suit.

It has been announced that Robby Gordon Racing will lease engines from Penske for the remainder of the season beginning in Kansas next week.

Nascar will conduct random drug testing so hold off on hanging out with Whitney Houston or George Michaels for a while.

News&Notes: The Miami Dolphins win just their second game in the last 22 starts demolishing the Patriots, 38-13. It was the Pats first regular season loss since 2006...Dallas took care of Green Bay, 27-16...The Eagles beat up the Steelers, 15-6...The Giants escaped the Bengals, 26-23 in OT...After falling to the Bills, 24-23, the Raiders are expected to fire head coach Lane Kiffin...USC is still number one, while Vanderbilt sneaks into the top 25 landing at 21. Click here for the AP rankings...The US claimed its first Ryder Cup since 1999...The US will not be winning the Davis Cup after Andy Roddick fell to Rafael Nadal, 6-4, 6-0, 6-4.

Check this out: For complete coverage of the Emmy's click here.

Last Call

While the Yankees are noticeably absent from the playoff picture (they were officially eliminated on Sunday), they were still able to dominate headlines as fans, current and former players alike bid farewell to the "old" Yankee Stadium . The field played host to a pregame ceremony that honored the many people who took the field over its 85 years of existence and highlighted 3-5 players who played each position for the Bombers. (My favorite part being when Don Larsen and Whitey Ford were pocketing some dirt from the mound.)

The final game will down in the record books as a win after the Yankees beat the Orioles, 7-3. But the stadium remained full as the players posed for pictures, took home some momentos and took a final victory lap around the Stadium to thank the millions of people who have gone through the turnstiles since 1923.

Derek Jeter summed it up best, standing on the pitcher's mound with his teammates around him, the Captian addressed the fans, “There are a few things with the New York Yankees that never change, pride, tradition and most of all we have the greatest fans in the world.” (I'm not quite sure about that last part.)

(Photos: AP and Getty Images)

My Final Game at Yankee Stadium

It’s funny, since I graduated college three years ago; I’ve found myself spending more and more time in the bleachers of Yankee Stadium. Attending games with friends, catching up, laughing, and enjoying the atmosphere and the game in front of me. These years have seemingly flown by. The memories, the moments, all caught on film. But as I put the deposit on my season ticket package for 2008, this date, September 18, 2008 seemed so far away. And who could blame me, I put a deposit down in November 2007 so 10 months was a far ways away. But as the days tore off my calendar, I got to this very point, my final game at Yankee Stadium.

Never being a huge Yankees fan, I mean their 1996 run totally ruined Ally Reiter’s bat mitzvah for me, I never had that connection with the ballpark as I had when I went down to Atlanta to watch my beloved Braves take on the Mets. A feeling like finally, I belong. But yesterday, I came to realize that maybe Turner Field wasn’t the only place I belonged. Yes, I remain a non-Yankees fan usually cheering (internally) for the team they are playing against. But yet still I felt like a member of this incredibly large fraternity (53,000+ last night) that came from all over the tri-state area and parts of the country to enjoy three hours of baseball. I laughed when the guy next to me during BP dropped a sure fire homer. I clapped, I slapped five when Bobby Abreu hit a towering homer in the first, I made friends with the kid in front of me so my friend could try to use him to get the free poster for kids 13 and under.

I took pictures of everything trying to remember every minute detail of the Stadium. The billboards on the scoreboard, the Yankees bullpen to my right, the tiers of seating, even the bleachers entrance which I had walked through so many times before. The funny thing is, for all the times I had said, “Oh I’m not a Yankees fan, I’ll never miss that Stadium.” Or “I’ve been to other Stadiums around the country and this one is gross. I can’t wait till they build a new Yankee Stadium.” For every time I laughed off the thought of the majesty this one place could possess, I was fooling myself. I will be sorry to see this place torn down. Even if I had never attended a game at the Stadium prior to the 1970s renovation to see it as it was when Babe Ruth pounded homeruns into the bleachers and Lou Gehrig stood to make his famous speach, I have so many special memories wrapped around that Stadium. Not just the ones on the field, sitting until the bitter end of the All-Star Game (1:37 AM thank you very much) or watching Andy Pettitte pick up his 200th win. The countless times I walked out of the Stadium to the sounds of “New York, NY” (Frank Sinatra) blaring from the loudspeakers, the excitement of the crowd when the grounds crew came out to the YMCA in the seventh inning. But of the people I have shared these moments with as well. The bleacher creatures who lead roll call every game to the loud guy who always talks about [insert opposing centerfielder’s name here] mother’s meatloaf to the countless crazy fans and to all of my friends who have attended games with me at the Stadium, I’m going to miss those special moments. But at the same time, I can’t wait to make more special moments at the new Stadium, literally across the street!

For my pictures from last nights 9-2 win click here.

Friday Funnies

Bronson Arroyo is truly multi-talented!

(Photo: AP)

LAME

Auburn University sent a mass email out to students asking them not to boo their own team when they take on # 6 LSU on Saturday. The email read:

"First, please join me by agreeing to demonstrate your support for, and not criticism of, our football team. That means no booing! Remember, the team isn't trying to lose the game -- the players work hard all spring and during fall camp to be ready to compete in the S.E.C."

I’m sorry when did this become pee wee football? Do the players need to take a break for nap time around noon? And do they have to drink out of the small juicy juice containers instead of gatorade bottles? Do they bring their security blankets to the locker room or do they leave them in their dorm rooms? What's next, stop selling beer at the games? Or end tailgating? Get over yourselves!
(source)

every girls crazy about a sharp dressed man

Baseball Update:
Bobby Abreu rocketed two homeruns and racked up six RBIs as the Yankees pounded the White Sox, 9-2. (Check back later for my report on my final game at Yankee Stadium, which happened to be last night's victory.)

Hey all manish looking strippers, A-Rod is a free man, so you no longer have to worry about sneaking around with the third baseman...Modanna.

Evan Longoria had three runs and still the Rays were unable to upend the Twins who rallied the the ninth inning, scoring five runs and collecting the 11-8 victory. The win moves Minnesota a game and a half behind the ChiSox.

The Rays announced Carl Crawford will be out for the remainder of the regalur season but do hope to have him back in the post season.

The Braves made it hard on the Phillies to collect the Series sweep (actually a season sweep at Turner Field) but Pat Burrell decided it was a good time to prove he is worth a nice fat paycheck this off season blasting the game winning homer in the sixth for the Phightins' to give them a 4-3 victory. And with the Mets keeping pace with their 7-2 win over the Nats, the Phils remain just a half game in front of New York.

Do the Brewers really feel like breaking that 26 year no-post season streak? Do they? Because after yesterday's loss the Cubs, I'm not sure. The Brewers went into the ninth inning with a 6-2 lead, only to blow it with Geovany Soto's three run blast, which tied the game at 6. Derek Lee singled in the winning run in the 12th inning to put Milwaukee a game and a half behind the Mets for the Wild Card.

Tim Lincecum suffered just his 4th loss of the season, giving up a two-out RBI single to Adam Dunn which scored the game winning run in the Diamondbacks 3-2 victory.

Earlier in the day, the Dodgers edged the Pirates, 4-3 in 12 innings thanks to a James Loney single that scored the game winning run.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland has been suspended three games for two separate tirades. I think Leyland was kind of hoping for a 10 game suspension so he could finish this disappointing season early.

The Civil Rights game, which has been played in Memphis the past two years, will be moving to Cinncinati beginning next season.

Kansas City could be hosting an All-Star game in either 2011, 2012 or 2013.

John Smoltz and Curtis Granderson are among the line-up of analysts and announcers for TBS' post season broadcasts.

Nascar Update:
Round 2 of the Chase brings us to the Monster Mile where anything can happen and often times it does. The track is now for its high banks, fast speeds and monster wrecks. Can the Chase guys come out unscathed or will there be another surprise driver finishing 42nd this week? You'll have to tune into ABC at 1 PM/est to catch the Camping World RV 400.

Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle were among a handful of drivers that visited Walter Reed Hospital this week. Biffle called the experience "overwhelming."

News&Notes: It's back to the drawing board after Stanley Druckenmiller withdrew his offer to purchase the Steelers. Maybe he had a lot of AIG stock?...The NFL will increase punishment for dangerous hits...Colorado edged #21 West Virginia, 17-14 in OT...Michael Beasley was fined $50,000 by the NBA after admitted being involved with the Mario Chalmers/Darrell Arthur Rookie Transition Program incident (PS doesn't the photo in the link look like a mug shot?)...Flames assistant coach Wayne Fleming has resigned from his position to becoem the head coach of Omsk in the KHL...Welterweight boxer Oscar Diaz has awaken from a two month long coma he suffered after a bout in San Antonio.

Check this out: The Emmy's are on Sunday. Click here for your printable scorecard.

I don't think it's supposed to bend that way

Chad Bradford
(photo: Getty Images)

It’s Always Sunny on Thursdays

Following in the tradition of “My Boys”, “Friday Night Lights”, and “How I Met Your Mother” Popo in my Crib is naming “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” THE show of the season. (Don't worry FNL addicts, I'll remind you when it starts airing on DirecTV) That’s right, for the next couple of weeks, I’ll be reminding you to tune into the insanely funny FX show by dedicating one post each Thursday to the show. Now I know there may be people out there that are saying “It’s always sunny where?” And frankly, shame on you for not watching one of THE funniest shows on TV. But I get it. There are lots of shows on the tube and you may actually say have a life which prohibits you from sitting on the couch for hours on end to watch the best network and cable television has to offer. (And in that case, don't judge me for being able to carve out hours of time to catch up on my overloaded DVR, I'm not judging you...too harshly) Anyway I implore you start watching. So if you’ve never seen an episode, click here to catch up on seasons 1-3. And if you’re short on time let me recommend a few episodes that always make me laugh

The pilot (because it’s nice to see how things start) – season 1
Charlie Gets crippled (the entrance of Frank) – season 2
Dennis and Dee Go on Welfare (because it’s hysterical) – season 2
Sweet Dee’s Dating a Retarded Person (Oh night man) – season 3
The Gang Dances their Asses off (season finale) – season 3

Don't forget to tune into FX at 10 PM/est tonight to catch the season premiere of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia."
(Photo: FX via SI)

Day Man

Baseball Update:
So good news/bad news for you Brewers fans. I'll go bad news first, Ben Sheets had to leave after two innings with pain in his right elbow. (Hears loud moans) Good news kids, your team beat the Cubs, 6-2.

The Mets also bounced back, snapping a three game losing streak by beating the Nats, 9-7. The Nats certainly made it interesting with two runs in the ninth, but Luis Ayala struck out Roger Bernadina to pick up the save and give New York the win.

But the Phillies slugged the Braves, 6-1 so the Mets were unable to make up any ground. Jair Jurrjens gave up four runs in the first inning alone as the Phils continue to dominate the Braves at Turner Field this season.

So another round of good news/bad news, this time for White Sox fans. Bad news, your team lost to the Yankees, 5-1, but the good news is Carlos Quentin got his soft cast off. Although it remains to be seen when he'll return to the club. With his solo homerun, Alex Rodriguez became the only player with 35 homeruns and 100 RBIs in 12 seasons, that's one more than Babe Ruth.

Cliff Lee didn't get the decision but the Indians were able to complete a sweep of the Twins with a 6-4 win. Jhonny Peralta and Victor Martinez hit RBI doubles in the game deciding seventh for the Tribe.

It's safe to say the Cardinals are out of contention for a playoff spot, but I'm sure they'd perfer to end the season with a some sort of winning streak instead of the seven game losing streak they find themselves in now. And especially after being blanked by the Reds, 3-0.

A team that could still be in the Wild Card race, the Astros are having a tough time getting any wins after being pounded by the Marlins, 14-2. I'm sure Hurricane Ike has been an unwelcome distraction for the team as well, who currently sit four games out of a playoff spot. Speaking of Ike, the Houston Astros have donated $1 million to help with relief efforts.

Adam LaRoche had two homeruns, including a grand slam, to help cool off the Dodgers in the Pirates 15-8 win. Nomar Garciaparra left the game early with a leg injury.

Brandon Webb had a two run double to go along with his seven solid innings as the D'Backs edged the Giants, 7-6 to gain a game in the West.

The Rays padded their slim AL East lead with their 10-3 bashing of the Red Sox. David Ortiz hit a two run homer in the first inning, but that was about all she wrote for the Sox offense.

Congrats to Ichiro who tied a Major League record with his 200th hit on Wednesday night. It was his eighth straight 200 hit season matching him with Wee Willie Keeler who compiled the feat from 1894-1901.

The Mets have moved up their opening of CitiField to Monday April 13th. Meanwhile, the Yankees will have extra security at the Stadium for their final few home games to make sure no one's doing any five finger discounts and leaving the Stadium with a few momentos.

Speaking of the final days of Yankee Stadium. Tonight's my last game at the House that Ruth built and I'll share my final memories tomorrow. So check back!

Nascar Update:
Nascar fined David Starr $10,000 and suspended three of his crew member for fighting in pit lane following Saturday's Truck race in New Hampshire. Mike Hillman, Jr., crew chief for Todd Bodine, was fined $2,500 and suspended until September 24th, Mark Hillman and William Divel were hit with $1,500 fines and suspended the same lenghth as Hilliman, Jr.

Speaking of last weekend's fracas, Las Vegas Motor Speedway has offered to sponsor a tug of war between the two teams. What is this, summer camp?

Goodyear feels confident about its Atlanta tire test. Excuse me if I'm being cynical, but I've heard that before.

Cheer up Lehman Brothers employees, Nascar is feeling a similiar financial crunch thanks to this floundering economy we've got going here.

News&Notes: Vikings say goodbye to Tarvaris Jackson, hello Gus Frerotte...LaDainian Tomlinson sat out of Wednesday practice with a toe injury...Ed Hochuli reads your hate email and responds...Louisville rushed passed Kansas State, 38-29...Gilbert Arenas will be out until December after undergoing knee surgery...The Rangers opened up training camp with a bunch of new faces.

Check this out: If anyone else has been watching the new "90210" like I have, you may find it hard to concentrate on the show because some of the female leads are really scary skinny (especially Silver, she was not that tiny when she was on "Reaper.") Both Us Weekly and EW have tackled this story in their current issues. Click here for Us and here for EW.

Have you Checked this out Lately?

Ok so it’s only been in existence for three days, but already PIMC’s new blotter has had stories about Olympic volleyball players with anger management issues, a former Super Bowl star being sentenced for money laundering and a generic NFL DUI arrest. With links to other great stories, why haven’t you clicked over already? Is it because I didn’t give you the link yet? Well click here to enter the world of the PIMC – Blotter!

Dude, so not cool

(Note: You may not want to play this too loud because the language is not exactly suitable for work)

I'm pretty sure this is going to get a lot of play, but I had to comment on the Mavs Josh Howard disrespecting the National Anthem. WTF?!?!?! Is there a reason your being a selfish ass or are you always like that? Plus if Jeremy Shockey was playing in this little flag football event, your ass mark would permanently be indented in the turf because he does not tolerate people who disrespect America and it pretty much says that on his upper arm! So that's my two cents. The Mavs apparently have given the forward their two cents saying they dealt with the situation in July when it happened. But thanks to the wonders of YouTube, the story is making waves again.

(source)

Hump Day Hair

Tell me if this is a little TMI for you guys. Today I rocked the old school flannel to work to celebrate both my love of the mid-90s and the fact that fall has finally descended upon New York City. In honor of this fashion statement I bring you Casey Blake. Somehow the well kept beard and slide parted hair just screams tree-logger to me and not in a bad way. In fact I always hate to admit, but Blake often times falls on my top ten list of baseball player crushes and I blame it all on the beard...and the hair. The man’s got really great hair.

(Photo: AP)

Does this look familiar?

Fine, there are still 12 days left in the season, and the Mets can fully blow the NL East title and still end up in the playoffs with the Wild Card, but don’t these two photos look eerily similar? Like a separated at birth almost exactly one year apart?

(Photos: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP and Kathy Willens/AP)

uppers, downers and candy corn

Baseball Update:
Does anybody want the NL wild card? It's not a knock to gain your entry into the playoffs with a wild card spot. Tons have teams have done it and some (Marlins 1997, 2003/Red Sox 2004 off the top of my head) have even gone on to win the World Series as wild card entrants. But apparently, the Mets, Brewers and Astros (to a lesser extent) have decided they are too big to gain entry in that manner and have instead decided to lose and lose and lose until some other unfortunate team winds up with it. Well guess what kids, one of you will have to take the wild card title no matter how many times or how badly you fall in the last 10 days of this season. Even you New York Mets who were blanked by the Nationals, 1-0. And you Milwaukee Brewers who failed to win with CC Sabathia on the mound, dropping to the Cubs, 5-4. And Houston, you certainly have a problem after being beaten by the Marlins, 5-1 with Roy Oswalt pitching.

Fernando Tatis separated his shoulder diving for a ball in the Mets loss on Tuesday. He'll be out for the remainder of the season.

As opposed to the NL Wild Card and the AL Central, the Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays really, really, really want to win the AL East crown. The two teams have been battling back and forth over the past month or so and entered Tuesday's game in a statistical tie for first. That tie was broken up when Dioner Navarro hit a walk off single that scored Jason Bartlett in the Rays, 2-1 win. It was the Rays 11th walk-off win of the season.

Mike Lowell has decided to continue playing with a torn labrum in his right hip. The injury will require surgery in the off season. And Boston GM Theo Epstein is close to signing an extension with the team.

After going 0-for-4 on Monday, Derek Jeter was able to break Lou Gehrig's record for number of hits at Yankee Stadium with a single under Juan Uribe's glove in the first. That was about the highlight for the Yanks, as they fell to the White Sox, 6-2.

If the Twins want to make the playoffs this year, they should really start to win games...starting on Wednesday, because Tuesday was a doozy. Victor Martinez hit a three-run homer in the 11th inning to give the Indians a 12-9 win over Minnesota, who is now 2 1/2 behind the ChiSox.

The Tribe will be without Anthony Reyes for the rest of the season due to a tender right elbow.

Speaking of winning, the Phillies did some of their own topping the Braves, 8-7. Ryan Howard hit a game winning two-run homer in the eigth to help the Phils take over possession of first the NL East.

Bronson Arroyo has been on fire lately going 5-0 in his last six starts including Tuesday's seven inning two run outting that gave the Reds a 7-2 win over the Cardinals.

Chris Walters' debut with the Orioles was an eight inning shut out, so it should come as no surprise that the young lefty threw a four hit complete game shut out for Baltimore in their 2-0 blanking of the Blue Jays. But somehow it is.

Maybe they didn't come out of nowhere winning 21 of their 23 games to get into the playoffs, but the Dodgers current run isn't somthing to sneeze at. The team notched their 14th win out of their last 16 games with a 6-2 victory over the Pirates keeping their 4 1/2 game lead over the Diamondbacks in tack.

Dan Haren did his part striking out 12 Giants batters in Arizona's 2-0 shut. The win helped the D'backs keep pace, but they are quickly running out of time if they want to make the playoffs this season.

Out since July, Seattle pitcher Erik Bedard has decided he will undergo surgery on his left shoulder because apparently rehab was not working.

Mark your calendars and cancel whatever you're doing on October 22nd, because that will be game 1 of the World Series. Click here for the projected 2008 playoff schedule.

Joe Torre and Gil Hodges were among the 10 players listed on the Hall of Fame ballot for Veterans Committee voters. Click here for the other eight names.

Congrats to the Sacromento River Cats who picked up their second straight Triple-A Championship beating the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, 4-1. The River Cats are an affiliate of the Oakland A's.

Nascar Update:
James Frye has decided to stick with Red Bull Racing, signing a multi-year contract extension.

It maybe adding lights, but SMI announced it will not change the track configuration for New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Dodge expects Gillett Evernham Motorsports to stay with the car manufacturer for 2009.

News&Notes: Colts safety Bob Sanders will miss the next 4-to-6 weeks with a high ankle sprain...The damage to Reliant Stadium may force the Texans to play at Rice Stadium...The Seahawks have acquired Keary Colbert and Koren Robinson to help bolster their WR core...Buccaneer cornerback Elbert Mack was suspended one game without pay by the NFL for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Falcons QB Matt Ryan...Former Thrashers coach Bob Hartley could be the lastest NHLer to head to the KHL. He is reportedly in discussions with the Avangard Omsk team which Jaromir Jagr signed with earlier this summer.

Check this out: Looks like the Milwaukee media is not interested in being objective in their sports coverage. Click here for the evidence.

how to embarass your teammates

It’s that time of year, you know when you get to make your teammates look like complete asses by dressing them up in embarrassing costumes. Well thanks to this post, I see the Rays have decided to go with a hodgepodge of crazy outfits, but I much more prefer the theme hazing. Expanding on last year’s ideas, here are some more ways to make your teammates fell like their 2 feet tall.



Making guys dress up like ladies is cliché, yet always entertaining. Somehow, these guys just can’t pull off Carmen Miranda like Rupal so instead I say why not go for the cast of “Golden Girls.” I’m sure when you’re a 23 year old star athlete you can easily use your anger towards your teammates for making you look like an 85 year old to pull off a great Sophia. And you have a small structured purse which could be used a weapon to boot.

Last year the Yankees made their young stars dress like the cast of the Wizard of Oz, one of my most favorite hazing outfits. This year, however, I say why not force your friends to wear roller skates and enter the wonderful world of “Xanadu.”

It’s already an institution at Yankee Stadium, seventh inning stretch, the music begins to blare from the speakers, the grounds crew take to the field, thrusting their fists towards the dirt, then it starts…”Yo man…” Unfortunately this routine is missing one small but very uncomfortable yet very important element, costumes. Bring on the Village people. I mean, who doesn’t want to wear a headdress? -- Of course in my dreams, the players would replace the grounds crew as a part of a thrilling send-off to Yankee Stadium, but I know logistically it would be difficult.

I was unaware that there were still people who not only liked but actually look up to Paris Hilton. What is this, 2002? But in honor of those seriously deranged folks, why not have a fleet of Hilton look a likes complete with small dog in tow.

So back in the day when I was in high school they’d make all the underclassman that made varsity wear poorly positioned make-up all over their face, some tattered clothing and at some point break out into either dance or song in their ritual hazing. Hmm…this description kind of reminds me a music video from the 80s. Could it be “Thriller?” And remember, we’re not just talking the walking zombies, someone’s going to have to don the red varsity jacket and play Michael, another would have to play the naïve female lead in here complete 1950s garb and then there’s the also the teen wolf Michael to consider plus the red leather jacket Michael. There are just so many options

Fading Fast

Baseball Update:
With only 12 games to go, the once seemingly destined playoff bound Brewers are sitting in a tie with the Phillies in the Wild Card race and 8 behind the Cubs in the Central. Knowing this is their window to make the playoffs for the first time in 26 years, Milwaukee took drastic measures, dropping manager Ned Yost and replacing him with third base coach Dave Sveum.

It took 16 innings for the Astros to finally get a hit against the Cubs and 17 innings to put a run on the board, unfortunately that run was not enough to get a win, as they fell to the Cubs, 6-1. Ted Lilly allowed just one hit and a walk over seven innings for Chicago.

Is it happening again? After a free fall in September of 2007, the Mets lost their playoff spot to the red hot Phillies and it looks like history maybe repeating after New York got pounded by the Nats, 7-2. Philly is now just a half game back in the East.

The Nationals Dmitri Young could be finished for the season with a strained left hip. I'm going to be honest here, I didn't even know he was playing. I thought he was having trouble with diabetes or something.

The Red Sox had six homeruns in their 13-5 bashing of the Tampa Bay Rays. The win puts the two teams at a flat foot tie in the East.

Does anybody want the AL Central? First it was the Tigers and Indians who faultered early and often. Now the White Sox and Twins are stumbling, with the ChiSox falling to the Yankees, 4-2 and the Twins being handled by the Indians, 3-1. Mariano Rivera moved into second place on the all time saves list with 479 while the Indians young pitcher Scott Lewis has yet to surrender a run in his first two major league starts. And in other good news for the city of Cleveland, they'll be staying there through 2023.

The Yankees kept Robinson Cano on the bench hoping he'll somehow learn his lesson about hustling in the field. Catcher Jorge Posada hopes the team learns from Joba Chamberlain's rotator cuff tendinitis this season and keep him in the pen.

The Twins have found a naming sponsor for their new Stadium and it has no affilation with the Nazis. Minnesota announced their new ballpark will be called Target Field.

The Tigers have shut down pitcher Kenny Rogers for the remainder of the season.

Hiroki Kuroda had seven strong innings and the Dodgers offense complemented his effort with eight runs in their 8-2 defeat of the Pirates. LA was unable to put any extra distance between themselves and the Diamondbacks after Adam Dunn hit a game winning homer in the eighth inning of their 3-1 win over the Giants.

Nascar Update:
Click here for the entry list for this weekend's race at Dover.

Do Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Tony Eury, Jr. need a mediator during races? Hey, whatever it takes to get to victory lane.

There a couple of rumors floating around involving consolidation of teams. One has Ganassi Racing trying to make a deal with Michael Waltrip Racing that would put Juan Pablo Montoya in a Toyota next season. The other is that Gillett Evernham Racing is looking to buy Bill Davis Racing.

News&Notes: There was certianly no lack of offense during Monday night's game between the Cowboys and Eagles, maybe just a lack of defense as the Boys outscored Philly, 41-37...Dallas safety Roy Williams fractured his right forearm during the game...The Titans are sticking with Kerry Collins even after Vince Young comes back, as long as their winning...The Bucs are keeping Brian Griese as their starting QB...The Texans will practice for the first time since Hurricane Ike blew threw the south eastern part of Texas over the weekend...Chris Cooley is sorry he showed a bit too much of himself in a recent blog post...Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson may have made "an unfortuante and regrettable error" that could cost the University.''

Check this out: Looks like Evan Longoria's sporting a new haircut. Can the mohawk just go away already?

help me out here…

…did Office Max hand these out to fans at U.S. Cellar this weekend? Or is this kid looking for sponsorship?

(Photo: AP)

The Blotter

It’s seems that more and more athletes are being arrested these days and completely clogging up this here blog. So I decided to put all of the arrest stories on my new blog: Popo in my Crib – Blotter. Today’s highlights include how to make friends at the lunch table and what not to do at a going away party. I’ll continue to update it throughout the upcoming weeks. So check it out!

Witchcraft and Wizardry at a Soccer Match in the Congo

11 people were killed at a soccer stadium in Betumbo in the Eastern Congo after a goaltender attempted to use witchcraft to win the game on Sunday. Nyuki club was losing to their local rivals Socozaki when the goaltender “advanced up the field and tried to use ‘fetishist’ spells” to give Nyuki some momentum. The move resulted in a tussle between the rival team's players which forced the popo to intervene. I guess the fans weren’t too happy with the popo and they started to throw things at him, which pissed off the popo and they started to fire teargas into the stands. Not a good call. The teargas caused mass hysteria and a stampede to the exits, killing 11 and injuring several more.

The lesson here is a) if you’re going to perform witchcraft, don’t do it in the middle of the soccer field during a match and b) don’t mess with the popo, because they’re always on your tail!

(Photo: Daily Mail; source)

Doubleheader Central

Wheaher was one of the biggest story this weekend with countless doubleheaders taking place on Saturday and Sunday not to mention the Cubs/Astros Series that had to be moved to Milwaukee in wake the of the terrible distruction that hit the coast of Texas this weekend. (My thoughts and prayers go out to those effected.) So here's a wrap of the weekend's news.

Baseball Update:
Hurricane Ike forced the Cubs/Astros Series to moved to a neutral site, unfortunately, the Stadium which happened to be open for use was Miller Park in Milwaukee, aka Wrigley North. Fans cheered on Carlos Zambrano as he completed the first Cubs no-hitter in 36 years, as Chicago blanked the Astros, 5-0.

Speaking of the Brewers, things are not going well for them. With the Phillies 6-1 win on Sunday night, Philadelphia not only completed a four game sweep, but they also moved into a tie with the Brew Crew for first in the Wild Card race. Couple that with the Mets ninth inning disaster that gave the Braves a 7-4 win and the Phillies are just a heartbeat away from a playoff spot.

The Yankees may not be in the heat of a playoff battle but they still managed to play spoiler, knocking down the Rays, 8-4 and taking the weekend series from Tampa two games to one. Derek Jeter tied Lou Gehrig for most hits at Yankee Stadium only a week before the curtain comes down on the 1923 relic. Robinson Cano was benched for the game after failing to show any hustle on the field and guess who's hurting? If you said Carl Pavano out of habit, you'd be right! He left in the third inning with a stiff hip but claims he's fine.

The Yankees have called up Phil Hughes and David Robertson from Triple-A. Hughes could start for the Bombers on Wednesday.

The Red Sox are now just one game behind the Rays in the AL East after holding off a two run rally in the ninth by the Blue Jays. Jon Lester was once again spectacular, allowing four hits and one run over eight innings as the Sox edged the Jays, 4-3.

The Orioles chased Twins pitcher Nick Blackburn out early after the pitcher allowed six runs in four innings in the Minnesota's 7-3 loss. The win allowed the Birds to avoid the sweep.

The White Sox were able to pad their lead in the Central by outslugging the Tigers, 11-7. Detroit rallied in the later innings, tying the game at seven a piece in the eighth inning, until DeWayne Wise blasted a grand slam off of reliever Kyle Fransworth to give Chicago the win.

Chone Figgins hit a game winning RBI single in the ninth inning to hand the Angels a 4-3 win over the Mariners. Mark Teixeira launched his 200th career homer in the win. On Saturday, LA's closer Francisco Rodriguez bested Bobby Thigpen's season save record with his 58th save of the season. Congrats to K-Rod!

Troy Tulowitzki broke a scoreless tie in the tenth with a single that brought home Matt Holliday to win the 1-0 game for the Rockies. The Dodgers, much like the Padres before them, wasted a superb seven inning outting by Greg Maddux in which he gave up just two hits and didn't walk a batter.

Corey Patterson homerun was enough for the Reds to slip past the Diamondbacks, 2-1 (10). With the Dodgers loss, Arizona remains 4 1/2 games back with time starting to run out. With their recent poor run, the D'Backs have replaced Brandon Lyon with Chad Qualls as closer.

With their 7-2 win, the Pirates were able to complete a sweep of the Cardinals, who sit 4.5 games behind the Brewers and Phillies in the Wild Card.


Brian Bannister picked up his first win since June with a little help from his friend Ryan Shealy who homered twice and drove in five runs as the Royals bashed the Indians, 13-3.

With the way things are going this season, I wouldn't be surprised it there was a need for a tie breaker game. Click here to see where things would shake out.

Nascar Update:
Greg Biffle made his presence known, taking the checkers in Loudon, NH for the first race of the Chase. Click here to see the updated standings.

Young Joey Logano's first race in the Sprint Cup Series wasn't exactly how he pictured it. But he knows things will get better, at least he hopes things will get better.

Loundon is set to add lights.

Congrats to Ron Hornaday, Jr. who was able to put behind a pretty tough week in which he admtited to using performance-enhancing drugs, learned Nascar would not take action against him and then was able to came out and won the Truck Race at New Hampshire.

Nascar is ending their recent tradition of having a "victory lap" around Manhattan during banquet week. Don't worry, they plan on having other events that will get fans very excited.

News&Notes: A controversial call in the closing seconds gave the Broncos a second chance and they didn't waste it, edging the Chargers, 39-38...In bad weather and with a bad shoulder, Ben Roethlisberger was able to lead the Steelers past the Browns, 10-6...Matt Cassel is no Tom Brady, but he was able to do just enough for New England to beat the Jets, 19-10...Even after coaching the Raiders to a 23-8 victory, Lane Kiffin could be out...Meanwhile the Saints get stunned by the Redskins, 29-24 and Sean Payton has a few extra years of job security...(Speaking of Jeremy Shockey, click here for his article in ESPN the Magazine)...The Giants spanked the Rams, 41-13...For more football scores, click here..After embarassing Ohio State, USC continues their stay at #1 while Oklahoma takes the #2 spot...Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis says he's in no rush to get surgery to fix torn ligaments in his knee suffered during Saturday's game against Michigan when John Ryan barrelled into into him on the sidelines...Sebastian Vettel became the youngest driver to ever win a Formula One race when the 21 bested the field at the Italian Grand Prix.

Check this out: So Michael Phelps was on SNL on Saturday night and he did an ok job with the material he was given. (I thought the T-Mobile commercial was the best skit with Phelps in it.) But this skit with Tina Fey as Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton has been getting the most play. Click here for the video.

Save me Tonight

Baseball Update:
Francisco Rodriguez tied Bobby Thigpen's single season saves record of 57 after the Angels took out the Mariners, 7-4. Jered Weaver pitched six scoreless innings for the Halos.

Ryan Howard hit his major league leading 43rd homerun while Jame Moyer gave the Phils just enough in their 6-3 win over the Brewers. The win cut Milwaukee's Wild Card lead down to three while allowing the Phils to gain a half a game in the NL East.

The Brewers were dealt another hard blow on Wednesday when Gabe Kapler injured his shoulder making a throw to the plate. The torn muscle could end Kapler's season early.

The Phillies are tied with Houston in the Wild Card standings after Roy Oswalt pitched his second consecutive complete game shut out. Oswalt also knocked in two runs as the Astros defeated the Pirates, 6-0.

Rich Harden didn't skip a beat after missing his last few starts, allowing two runs over six innings in the Cubs 3-2 edging of the Cardinals. The Cubs flew back to Chicago as they wait out Hurricane Ike. The team was scheduled to play a three game series against the Astros in Houston, however the first two games have been postponed in advance of the storm arriving on shore, leaving Sunday's game also in question.

Both the Twins and White failed to capitalize on Thursday. Minnesota's offense was unable to provide enough runs to salvage Francisco Liriano's great start, falling to the Royals, 3-2 (10). And the White Sox were outslugged by the Blue Jays in the eighth inning in their 6-4 loss.

The Braves scored five runs in the sixth on their way to a 8-4 ripping of the Rockies. The win gave Atlanta a sweep. Holy crap, they've won three in a row!

According to Hank Steinbrenner, the Yankees made a lot of mistakes this season. Like not getting Johan Santana and instead chosing to hold onto the impressive trio of Ian Kennedy, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, if they ever decide to stay physcially and mentally healthy.

Junichi Tazawa, described as a Japanese flame thrower, is hoping to make his mark in American baseball.

Baseball started in England?

Nascar Update:
The Chase officially begins when the green flag drops in New Hampshire on Sunday. Clint Bowyer surprised everyone by winning his first Cup race at this very event last season. Can he do it again? Or will someone else cross the start finish line at the Sylvania 300 first? Tuen into ABC at 1 PM/est to find out.

The Nascar Top 12 were at Letterman on Wednesday. Click here to see the Top 12 list.

Click here to listen to Tony Stewart on the Dan Patrick Show.

News&Notes: Hurricane Ike has wrecked havoc on sports this weekend. Not only was the first two games of the Astros/Cubs series postponed, but Sunday's Texans/Ravens game has been moved to Monday night...TO's talking about Donavan McNabb. Oh it's just like old times...Rutgers got hammered by UNC, 44-12. That's going to hurt their fundraising efforts for sure...The Hurricanes locked up Eric Staal for an additional seven years and it's only going to cost them $57.75 million...Russian tennis player Nikolay Davydenko has been cleared by the ATP to play again...Ferrari has signed Kimi Raikkonen through 2010.

Check this out: Tony Romo is a man of many talents. He can throw, he can scramble, he can drink from tiny pepsi bottles and apparently he can change a flat tire. Click here for the full story.

Oh Kerry Collins...

…The years have not been kind to you. I literally had to do a double take when I saw that picture. I remember him looking so much cuter when he played for the Giants. Let this be a warning to you kids out there, hard partying is fun when you’re 20 but when you’re 30 and you look like you’re 45, you’ll realize botox is expensive…and that you can’t grow a new liver. Luckily for Kerry he’s a) employed and b) proves time and again that he’s an effective quarterback. Let's see how he does this weekend when he takes the helm of the Titans in place of the injured Vince Young.
(Photo: AP)

Fashion Review: Chasers ‘08

(Photo: Frank Franklin, II/AP)

The 2008 Nascar Chase drivers descended on New York on Wednesday, posing for photos, talking with the media and scooping ice cream? What to wear to an occasion like this? Well some opted for a suit, some went for just a blazer and Tony Stewart made it a very casual affair.

The biggest surprise for me was Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Seems his recent pairing with Hendrick Motorsports and more notably his teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson has rubbed off on him. The sometimes scruffy driver opted for a red striped collared shirt under what appears to be a navy cable-knit sweater (which I’m praying is cashmere). Oh my prayers have been answered. No longer rocking the wrinkled, untucked dress shirt, Juniors wearing a sweater! Big step up, kid.
(Photo: Getty Images for Nascar)

Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson is decidedly more dressed down sporting a white polo with the Lowe’s logo on it (because it’s not proper Nascar attire if it doesn’t include a sponsor logo). The fit is perfect, but with other drivers wearing blazers or the very least a dress shirt, Johnson looks more like he’s being delayed to make tee time, than at media day.
(Photo: Getty Images for Nascar)

On the other side of the coin, there’s Jeff Gordon who is fully outfitted in the suit and tie. Maybe the towncar can drop him off at Goldman’s before Johnson heads over to Trump National.
(Photo: Getty Images)

Oh and Tony, don’t feel threatened to tuck in the shirt, but can you at least get one that fits?
(Photo: Frank Franklin, II/AP)