Be Kind Rewind

Olympics Updates: (REMEMBER KIDS SOME OF THESE THINGS HAVE NOT AIRED, SO READ WITH CAUTION)
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh remain undefeated and with a shiny new gold medal to show for it after beating China 21-18, 21-18.

They aren't the only ladies that could walk away with a volleyball gold as the US beat Cuba, 25-20, 25-16, 25-17 to advance to the gold medal final.

The US Softball team suffered their first loss of the Beijing games in the gold medal finals, falling to Japan, 3-1. This if the first time since softball was introduced as an Olympic sport in 1996 that the Americans have not taken home gold.

The ladies are hoping to redeem themselves in soccer's gold medal round after beating Japan, 4-0 in the semifinals. The US will go up against Brazil, who they beat in the 2004 Olympics but who they fell to in the World Cup in 2007.

LeShawn Merritt upset defending champ Jeremy Wariner in the 400 meters. David Neville dove across the finish line to give the Americans the medals sweep.

Both the men's and women's US relay teams dropped the baton in the 400 relay, blowing any chance at medal.

The IOC is none too thrilled with Jamacian sprinter Usain Bolt and what they believe is a lack of respect given to his fellow competitors following his gold medal performances in both the 100 and 200 meters.

Baseball Update:
A day after they boycotted a meeting with Major League Baseball, the umpires are on board with instant replay, which would only be used in boundary calls such as fair or foul and whether it is a homerun.

The Red Sox scored four runs in the first two innings, but Clay Buchholz had another poor outting, giving up five runs in two and third innings as Boston fell to the Orioles, 11-6. Buchholz was optioned to Double-A following the game. Meanwhile, the Sox signed former Red David Ross to a minor league contract.

Garrett Anderson extended his hitting streak to 23 games in a big way with an infield single that scored the go ahead run in the Angels, 5-4 victory over the Rays. The win gave Los Angeles the best record in the majors and helped them avoid a sweep.

The Yankees got some help from their veteran core as Derek Jeter hit a two run homer and Andy Pettitte pitched seven strong innings in New Yorks' 5-1 defeat of the Blue Jays. Newly acquired Xavier Nady continues to impress going 2-for-4 with a RBI in the win.

Ken Griffey, Jr.'s homerun on Wednesday moved him into a tie with Sammy Sosa for fifth all time as the White Sox dimantled the Mariners, 15-3. Griffey was one of for Chicago players to go yard.

Franklin Guetierrez hit a three run homer in the Indians five run eighth to give Clevenland a 8-5 win. Royals outfielder Mitch Maier was injured during the game when he was hit in the face by a Zach Johnson pitch in the fifth inning. Maier was taken to the hospital for x-rays, which revealed fractures below his right eye.

As the Twins prepared to hit the road for the next two weeks, they gave the hometown crowd a little senoff with their 3-1 victory. Mike Redmond drove in two runs while Francisco Liriano shut out the A's in his five innings of work, allowing Minnesota to keep pace with the White Sox in the Central and gain ground on the Red Sox in the Wild Card.

Speaking of the central, the NL central, the Brewers picked up a game with their 5-2 win over the Astros and the Cubs 2-1 loss to the Reds. Have I told you how much I love Bronson Arroyo lately? Manny Parra earned his first victory in a month for Milwaukee while Rickie Weeks' three runs were the difference makers.

The Reds brass sent fans a letter apologizing for sucking so bad this season and the last seven seasons in which they've failed to hit .500. But please keep buying tickets, we have to get good adventually right. And at least we've made the playoffs once in the last 26 years unlike some other team I know.

The Cardinals who are just 2.5 games behind the Brew Crew in the Wild Card could be without starter Kyle Lohse for five games (really just a start) if his suspsenion holds up. Lohse was given the penalty for throwing a pitch over Reds pitcher Edimson Volquez's head. However, St. Louis was uneffected by the news as they destroyed the Pirates, 11-2.

Both the Phillies Brett Meyers and the Mets Mike Pelfrey tossed complete games for the win on Wednesday. Meyers resulted in the Phillies 4-0 shut out fo the Nats, while Pelfrey's first career complete game hit a rocky patch in the sixth as the Braves tacked on two runs and at one point had the bases loaded with nobody out. But Pelfrey rallied and gave the Mets the 6-3 advantage.

The Braves got some good news, as there appears to be no ligament damage in Tom Glavine's elbow. Glavine will undergo surgery on Thursday, but if he and the Braves want to, could be back for 2009.

Nascar Update:
Nascar dropped the hammer on Joe Gibbs Racing's Nationwide Series #18 and #20 on Wednesday. Both teams were penalized #150 driver and owner points, while crew chiefs Jason Ratcliff and Dave Rogers have been placed on indefinite suspension and have been fined $50,000 each. #18 crew members Dorian Thorsen, Michael Johnson and Toby Bigelow and #20 crew members Richard Bray and Dan Bajek have also been given the indefinite leave. The penalties stem from Saturdays race when crew members from both teams were caught trying to alter both the #18 and #20 in post-race inspection. This is harsh, but I was expecting suspending both cars for at least one race as well as the crew member suspensions.

Donnie Wingo, crew chief for the #41 Dodge driven by Reed Sorenson was fined $25,000 for improperly attaching weight on the #41 car at Michigan.

Gillett Evernham will rotate crew chiefs for the final 10 Naitonwide Series races this season.

Congrats to Kyle Busch for winning another Truck Series race this season.

News&Notes: Sad news, Hall of Famer and NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw has died at the age of 63...Eagles WR Kevin Curtis could miss the opening game with a sports hernia...Rams runningback Steven Jackson has ended his hold out after agreeing to a contract with St. Louis...The NCAA has banned horse-collar tackles in college football...Mats Sundin still has no home but could he be heading to Philly? And what does he have to do with Teemu Selanne?

Check this out: Former New York Giant Jason Sehorn and his lovely wife Angie Harmon are expecting their third child. Meanwhile, Matt Damon's wife Luciana gave birth to daughter, Gia. And Ricky Martin has two new kids via a surogate. (Obvi!) Plus Jennifer Garner admits she's pregnant with baby number 2. Now that was a lot of baby news for one morning.

It's been fun blogging with you,
Kate