Close Out Special

Baseball: The Cubs picked up outfielder Marlon Byrd for three years, $15 million...The Phillies have added Danys Baez to their bullpen...Ken Griffey, Jr. is excited for 2010...Mike Lowell had surgery to fix his ailing thumb. Maybe the Red Sox can get rid of him now...Carlos Delgado had a hit in his first game since undergoing surgery in May. Great, still don't think he's the Mets answer to first base...Edwin Encarnacion suffered first and second degree burns to his face as a result of fireworks accident. He's very lucky that's all that he suffered...Tigers catcher Gerald Laird and his younger brother Brandon were arrested following a brawl in the lounge area of Phoenix's NBA arena during a Suns game. Luckily this wasn't at the Verizon Center or they could have been staring down the barrell of one of Gilbert Arena's guns. Watch out Laird Brothers, because the popo are on your tail!

Basketball: The Lakers blew out the Mavericks, 131-96 but lost Pau Gasol to a hamstring injury in the process...Although Ron Artest has been cleared by doctors to begin practicing on Monday...Speaking of blow outs, the Knicks rolled past the Pacers, 132-89...The Sixers edged the Nuggets, 108-105.

College Basketball: USC is punishing itself for rules violations. Among the sanctions, the team will forfiet all of their wins from 2007-08...Chandler Parson's 75-foot-3-pointer was the difference in the Gator's 62-61 OT win over NC State...Duke didn't need any last second shots in their 74-53 rout over Clemson...Michigan upended Ohio State, 73-64.

College Football: USC running back Stafon Johnson has accepted an invitation to play in the senior bowl...Florida's Joe Haden and California's Jahvid Best are heading to the NFL.

Football: The Jets ripped the Bengals, 37-0 to close out Giants Stadium the right way. Oh and punch their ticket to the playoffs...Meanwhile the Giants got an ass whooping to the tune of 44-7. Nice to see you guys showed up the past two weeks...Which makes the news that Bill Sheridan's first year as Giants defensive coordinator will be his last not a big suprise....The Ravens clinched the AFC Wild Card spot with a 21-13 win over the Raiders...The Broncos, however, lost a chance at the playoffs after being drubbed by the Chiefs, 44-24. Hey, they could hit the linx with the Giants...The Cowboys avenged their 2008 loss to the Eagles with a 24-0 win...The Patriots lost WR Wes Welker for the playoffs if not longer with what looks like a torn MCL and ACL suffered during New England's 34-27 loss to the Texans...For the rest of Sunday's scores, click here...The Redskins have finally fired Jim Zorn.

(Photo: Reuters)

Hockey: The Panthers sent the Peguins to their fifth straight loss, 6-2...On the flip side, the Sabres won their fourth straight after shutting out the Canadiens, 1-0...Marian Hossa scored twice and Antti Niemi stopped 22 shots as the Blackhawks bested the Ducks, 5-2...In a high scoring affair, the Senators came out on top of the Flyers, 7-4...The Bruins have signed Miroslav Satan to a one year deal...The Blues have fired Andy Murray and replaced him with Davis Payne...US beat Sweden, 5-2 to advance to the World Junior Finals where they will take on Canada...Congrats to the Rangers' Ryan Callahan and Chris Drury on being named to the US Olympic squad. Click here to see who will be joining them in Vancouver.

Best of the Rest: Front Row Motorsports has hired Travis Kvapil to drive their #34 with Steven Lane as the crew chief.

Check this Out: The Bachelor premiere's tonight on ABC at 8 PM/est. The cast includes the former girlfriend of Carl Pavano and Chris Campoli, Gia Allemand. Click here for a preview.