Wednesday Morning Quick Hitters

The Red Sox went from elation in the Bottom of the 8th inning with Jason Bay’s HR to go ahead to deflation when Jonathan Paplebon coughed up the win, allowing Tampa to score 2 runs in the Top of the 9th. The Rays win 5 – 4. The Rays go back up in the AL East by 1 1/2 games.

The Minnesota Twins moved a game closer in the AL Central and the Wild Card standings as they beat the KC Royals 7 – 2.

The Chicago White Sox drop a pair to Toronto as the Blue Jays extend their winning streak to 9 games..can you say 2008 version of the 2007 Colorado Rockies?

The Florida Marlins played HR Derby beating the Philadelphia Phillies 10 – 8.

Carlos Delgado continues his 2nd half power surge, slamming the New York Mets to 10 – 8 win over the Washington Nationals. The Mets are 2 1/2 games ahead of the Phillies in the AL East.

The NL Central stays the same again as both the Cubs and Brewers lose again. The Chicago Cubs lose to the St Louis 4 – 3. The Milwaukee Brewers lose to the Reds in extra innings again 5 – 4. The Brewers stay 4 1/2 games back of the Cubbies.

The Los Angeles Dodgers continue to roll now that they are in 1st place, beating the San Diego Padres 6 – 2.

Arizona loses late to the hapless San Francisco Giants 5 – 4. The Diamondbacks have lost 5 straight and are now 2 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West.

Shawne Merriman decides to do the right thing and opts for surgery.

The NFL Network is reporting that Chris Simms has signed with the Titans.

Doc Rivers signs extension with the Boston Celtics.

Mo Cheeks and the 76ers agree to terms.

Monta Ellis admits to lying about his injury.

Kobe Bryant will not have surgery on his finger. So many jokes so…so little space..

Jim Tressel says that Wells will play for The Ohio State in their contest with USC.

Former Patriots Offensive Coordinator and current Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis finally explains his comments about Michigan at a ND Booster conference last spring.

Saturday Morning Quick Hitters

Mark Buehrle stymied the Boston Red Sox for 7 innings, and Carlos Quentin added an insurance HR in the 8th to beat the Red Sox 5 – 3.

The Tampa Bay Rays moved 3 1/2 games up on the Red Sox by beating the Seattle Mariners 5 -3. Carlos Pena went 2 -3 with 2 RBIs to lead the Rays to victory.

The California Angels used a 17 hit barrage to nail the New York Yankees 10 – 5. Ian Kennedy looked as dismal as ever giving up 5 earned runs in just 2 innings of work. Torii Hunter continued his blazing year at the plate, going 4 – 5 with 4 RBIs.

Chipper Jones returned to the Atlanta Braves lineup Friday, and immediately brought his team a victory. Chipper went 2 – 4 with a HR and 2 RBIs in Atlanta’s 11 -6 win over Arizona.

Brad Penny returned to the LA Dodgers rotation Friday and looked like the Opening Day starter the Dodgers expected. Penny went 5 inning only giving up 1 hit on the way to leading the Dodgers to a 6 -2 win over the San Francisco Giants. With the win, the Dodgers are only 1/2 game back of the Arizona Diamonbacks for the NL West lead.

Former St Louis Cardinal Jim Edmonds, was a 1 man wrecking crew on his former team Friday. Edmonds hit 2 HRs and Henry Blanco singled home the winning run in the 11th inning, helping the Chicago Cubs to a 3 – 2 win over the St Louis Cardinals.

CC Sabathia was on his game again, throwing a complete game, 5 hit shutout against the listless Washington Nationals. Sabathia struck out 9 in the 80’s Old School Pinstripes, to lead the Brew Crew to a 5 – 0 win over the Nats. The Brewers stayed 5 games back of the Cubs.

The Minnesota Twins kept pace with the White Sox, beating the Kansas City Royals 4 -1. Kevin Slowey 5 2/3 innings and the Twins bullpen held it the rest of the way for the win. In other Twins news, Michael Cuddyer is possibly lost for the season, as he was hit in the foot by a line drive while he was leading off first.

The Philadelphia Phillies wasted a gem from newly acquired Joe Blanton, losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates 2 – 0. The Pirates used a bevy of pitchers and survived 2 walks by former Red Sox reliever Craig Hansen, in the 12 inning to secure the win. The Phillies have now gone 23 innings without scoring a run.

The New York Mets moved to within 1 game of the Phils, beating the Florida Marlins 3 – 0 Friday. Carlos Delgado and David Wright homered in the win.

The Atlanta Hawks didn’t waste much time deciding whether to keep Josh Smith. The Hawks kept Smith by matching the Grizzlies’ offer of 5 years, $58 million.

76ers center, Jason Smith, suffers ACL injury.

Tony Parker picked as EA Sports NBA Live 09 cover player.

Chad Pennington didn’t stay unemployed for long, signing a 2 year deal with the Miami Dolphins.

The Philadelphia Eagles locked up Brian Westbrook for another 3 years on Friday.

New York Jets tight end AJ Schable left the hospital after a helmet to helmet collision in Thursday’s game against the Browns.

Michael Phelps opened his quest for USA Swimming history by setting an Olympic record in the 400 meter individual medley. Larsen Jensen improved on his 400M freestyle American record

US Women’s Soccer got into the win to take his prelim heat.column, with a victory over Japan 1 – 0.

USA women’s saber fencing takes the 1st medals of the Olympics for The United States.