Monday, September 22, 2008

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.

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