not so fast

Baseball Update:
The Yankees prevented the Angels from clinching their western crown with a 7-1 victory. New York was lead by Alfredo Aceves who allowed one run and five hits over seven innings in his major league debut. Derek Jeter's single in the first allowed him to pass Babe Ruth on the Yanks all time hits list. He sits second behind Lou Gehrig.

The Rays rallied in the ninth knocking in two off of Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon in their 5-4 win to give themselves a game and half lead over Boston in the East. The win also guarantees that Tampa Bay will leave Boston still in first place.

The Mets padded their slim NL East lead, besting the Nationals, 10-8. Carlos Delgado hit two homeruns for the second straight game, the second scoring the go ahead run for the Metsies. Delgado has been on quite a tear ever since that first game against the Yankees in June. With the way he's going it would be hard to not offer him a contract for next year...and only next year!

The Phillies fell to the Marlins, 10-8 as Kyle Kendrick got shelled by the Fish. Kendrick lasted just an inning and a third, allowing seven earned runs in the loss, while Ryan Howard hit his 41st homerun of the season becoming just the ninth player in major league history to have three consecutive seasons of 40+ homeruns and 125+ RBIs.

If there is one team you'd like avoid in the closing weeks, it would be the Blue Jays. Got that Baltimore, Boston and New York? Because the White Sox got the message loud and clear, dropping both games of a doubleheader and giving them a tiny one game lead over the Twins in the Central.

Chicago is hoping to get all-star slugger Carlos Quentin back for the post-season after he underwent surgery on his broken right wrist.

Speaking of the Twins, they spanked the Royals, 7-2. Justin Morneau had a homerun while Denard Span scored two runs for Minnesota in the win.

The Indians got some great news on Tuesday, their DH Travis Hafner, who has missed a substantial part of the season was activated from the DL. For his coming out party, Hafner had two singles while Jeremy Sowers pitched an eight inning gem for the Tribe in their 6-1 win over the Orioles.

You know it's bad when you lose to a team that just called up 7 players from the minors. But that seems to be the theme of the Brewers over the last few weeks. Lost opportunities, well just a lot of losses. This time it came at the hands of the Reds who edged the Brew Crew, 5-4.

Luckily for Milwaukee, the Cubs have continued their own nose-dive, losing to the Cardinals, 4-3. Albert Pujols launched a three run homer to tie the game in the sixth and then Brendan Ryan slid under the tag to score the winning run for St. Louis in the ninth. Pujols is still deciding whether he'll undergo reconstructive elbow surgery that could keep him off the field into 2009.

There was some good news for the Cubs, pitchers Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden look to be closer to returning later this week.

Andre Either knocked four runs in while Manny Ramirez belted a homerun to help the Dodgers beat the Padres. The win coupled with the Diamondbacks 5-4 loss to the Giants, gave LA a 2 1/2 game lead in the West.

The Braves won a wild one in the 10th when Rockies reliever Taylor Buchholz balked in a run to give the Braves the 5-4 advantage. I'm pretty sure Atlanta will take any kind of win they can get.

John Smoltz is hoping he'll return to Atlanta in 2009 after recovering fully from shoulder surgery. But if the Braves do not have a spot for him, he's willing to go somewhere else. If he does, he and Frank Wren are dead to me!

The A's dropped two pieces of dead weight, oft-injured Mike Sweeney and then the Tigers, 3-2.

Why can't people just stay retired? Mark McGwire says he's open to returning. Learn from Michael Jordan's 2001 return, the one where he came back with the Wizards. It's just not worth it.

Major League Baseball is meeting with bat manufactures in hopes of making a safer bat. You know the kind that split into a million pieces sending dagers into the stands full of people (except if you're in Dolphin Stadium) or into Troy Tulowitzki's hand.

Nascar Update:
Nascar.com goes 1-on-1 with Carl Edwards. Click here for the interview.

He maybe less a sponsor and a couple of teammates, but Juan Pablo Montoya is happy with the direction Chip Ganassi Racing is heading.

News&Notes: After playing just one game, Shawne Merriman has decided it's probably a good idea to get that surgery to fix his two torn ligaments in his left knee...A MRI revealed Titans QB Vince Young has a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee which will keep him out of Sunday's game against the Jaguars...Although nothing compares to this scary story about Young...The Titans may have signed QB Chris Simms...If he wants it to say Ocho Cinco on the back of his jersey, Chad Johnson is going to have to pay up...Ohio State running back Chris "Beanie" Wells will play in Saturday's game against USC...Contrary to yesterday's report, Kobe Bryant will not have surgery on his pinkie...The Wings signed Chris Chelios to a one year deal... The Panthers locked up Keith Ballard for six more years...And the Hurricanes are working on a deal to keep Eric Staal with the team for the long term.

Check this out: Apple unveiled its latest iPod technology. Click here to see the new nano and much more!