Thursday Morning Quick Hitters

The Boston Red Sox used their young guns to take a game from the California Angels in Anaheim. Jacoby Ellsbury had 3 hits and was a force on the basepaths and Jon Lester pitched 7 very strong innings to bring the Sox post season win streak against the Angels to 10 games. Jason Bay broke the ice for the Red Sox with a 2 run HR off John Lackey. The Sox take a 1 – 0 series lead with the 4 – 1 win.

The 1st game of the day show just how playoff ready the Philadelphia Phillies are. Cole Hamels pitched 8 innings of 2 hit ball and Brad Lidge scared the hell out of every Phillies fan in the 9th, but he closes it out and gives the Phillies a 3 – 1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Phillies take a 1 – 0 series lead.

Ryan Dempster couldn’t find the plate and it finally cost him in the 5th inning as James Loney hit a grand slam propelling the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7 – 2 win over the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs took an early lead on a 2 run HR by Mark DeRosa, but the Dodgers were too strong for the Cubbies at Wrigley.

Bill Belichick denies yet another unfounded accusation from crazy man Al Davis.

Former Buffalo Bill and Denver Bronco Travis Henry arrested on cocaine trafficking.

Boise St reminded everyone they still exist last night with a blowout of LA Tech.

Friday Morning Quick Hitters

Oh no, hide all the neck ties and knives at the Sedenka household, West Virginia loses again, this time to Colorado 17 – 14.

In what could be a AL Divisional Series matchup, Minnesota wins the 1st game, even though Evan Longoria hits 3 HRs, 11 – 8. The Rays are 1 1/2 games up on the Red Sox. The Twins are 1 1/2 games back of Chicago and 6 1/2 back of the Red Sox in the Wild Card.

The Chicago White Sox lost to the New York Yankees in their last game at Yankee Stadium 9 – 2.

The Chicago Cubs scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th to tie the Milwaukee Brewers and Derek Lee knocked in the winning run in the bottom of the 12, virtually crushing Milwaukee’s playoff hopes winning 7 – 6. The Brewers are now 9 games behind the Cubs and 2 games behind the Mets in the Wild Card.

The NL East stayed the same as the Philadelphia Phillies finished off a sweep of the Atlanta Braves 4 – 3. The New York Mets beat the Washington Nationals 7 – 2. The Phillies are 1/2 game up on the Mets.

The NL West stayed the same as well as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in 12 innings 4 – 3. The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Francisco Giants 3 – 2. The DBacks are
3 1/2 game back of the Dodgers.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall should not have any further suspension.

Adrian Peterson misses Thursday practice.

The Pittsburgh Steelers owners reject Druckenmiller’s offer.

Joey Porters garbage isn’t flying around Patriots camp.

Former Boston Celtic and current Minnesota Timberwolves center Al Jefferson sprains knee.

Philadelphia 76er Jason Smith out for season.

Monday Morning’s Painful Quick Hitters

Well is there any other story, really, that matters to most of the NFL world today. Here is a round-up of stories regarding Tom Brady and his apparent ACL tear. Sirius NFL Radio reported and confirmed that Chris Simms and Tim Rattay are heading to Foxboro Monday.

Boston Globe Patriots Page
Boston Herald Patriots Page
ESPN Story
Yahoo Sports
Ron Borges of WEEI.com
Adam Schefter of The NFL Network

Well now to the game. The Matt Cassell era has begun in a 17 – 10 win over the Chiefs.

Former BC Eagle Matt Ryan throws a 62 Yrd TD pass on his 1st NFL attempt on the way to an Atlanta Falcons stomping of the Detroit Lions 34 – 21.

The Buffalo Bills special teams lead the way to a 34 – 10 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Brett Favre’s debut goes well in Miami, with a 20 – 14 win over the Dolphins.

Reggie Bush and Drew Brees combined to lead the New Orleans Saints over the Tampa Bay Bucs 24 – 20.

The Pittsburgh Steelers pound the Houston Texans 38 – 17.

The Tennessee Titans beat the Jacksonville Jags 17 – 10, but lose QB Vince Young.

Baltimore Ravens rookie QB Joe Flacco leads his team past the Cincinnati Bengals 17 – 10.

Jake Delhomme connects with Dante Rosario in te last seconds of Sunday’s game against the Chargers for a late win, beating the Bolts 26 – 24.

The Arizona Cardinals beat the San Francisco 49ers 23 – 13.

The Dallas Cowboys wallop on the Cleveland Browns 28 – 10.

I saved a little sunshine for last….

The Chicago Bears christened Lucas Oil Stadium, beating the Indianapolis Colts 29 – 13.

As all of New England is distracted by Tom Brady’s injury, the Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 7 – 2 behind Paul Byrd and Big Papi. The win combined with Tampa Bay Rays 1 – 0 loss to the Blue Jays, leaves the Red Sox just 1 1/2 games out of 1st place.

The AL Central stayed the same Sunday as the White Sox lost to the California Angels 3 – 2 and the Minnesota Twins lost to the Detroit Tigers 7 – 5.

The New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies split a day night double header keeping the Mets lead over the Phils at 2 games in the NL East.

The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers both lost on Sunday, so the Cubs lead over the Brew Crew stays at 4 games. Chicago loses to the Reds 4 – 3 and the Brewers lose to the Padres, as Chris Young loses a perfect game bid in the 8th inning, 10 -1.

The Loas Angeles Dodgers go 1 1 /2 games ahead of the Diamondbacks by beating Arizona 5 – 3.

Wednesday Morning Quick Hitters

Dice K pitched as usual and still wins. He threw 105 pitches in 5 innings, walked 6 and struck out 5 an still got his 15th win. The Sox beat the Orioles 7 – 2. In other Sox news, Captain Carl Yastrzemski had successful triple by pass surgery yesterday. For you whipper snappers that haven’t see Yaz in action, check out this 3 partner on YouTube on the 1967 World Series. Yet more Sox news, good times to come, Josh Beckett has numbness in his arm, and to steal a joke, does that mean that Clay Buchholtz have numbness in his head?

Tampa Bay just keeps winning. The Rays beat the Angels again, 4 – 2.

The New York Yankees continue their freefall, losing to the Toronto Blue Jays 2 – 1.

The AL Central stayed the same as the Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 5 – 0 , while the Minnesota Twins blasted the Oakland A’s 13 – 2. Kevin Slowey struck out 12 continuing his stretch of masterful pitching. The Pale Hose still have a 1 game lead on the Twins.

While off the field the Mets got bad news on closer Billy Wagner, on the field, the Mets beat up on Atlanta Braves 7 – 3.

Philadelphia Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins heard it loud and clear from the Phillies fans last night, but that didn’t stop the team from defeating the Washington Nationals 5 – 4. The Phils stayed 1 1/2 games back of the Mets.

Rich Harden and the Chicago Cubs had another stellar game, shutting out the Cincinnati Reds 5 – 0.

The Milwaukee Brewers lost another game in the standings as Ben Sheets is just 1 – 5 since the All Star break, losing to the Houston Astros 5 – 2.

The Arizona Diamondbacks held on for dear life as the San Diego Padres scrored 3 runs in the 9th, falling just short of a comeback and finally losing to the D-Backs 7 – 6.

The LA Dodgers lost ground in the NL West, losing to the Colorado Rockies 8 – 3. The Dodgers are 1 game behind Arizona.

The Philadelphia 76ers have signed Theo Ratliff.

Gordan Giricek is the latest NBA vet to bolt for Europe.

It’s a done deal, Chris Henry re-signed with the Bengals.

The Arizona Cardinals seem to be in a standoff with Anquan Boldin.

Trent Edwards leaves Buffalo Bills practice with a leg injury.

Oh oh, Peyton Manning may not be as ready as we all though.

Sunday Morning Quick Hitters

The Boston Red Sox continued their mastery over the AL Central, beating the White Sox 6 – 2. The win give the BoSox an 18 – 7 record against the AL Central. Chicago lost Jose Contreras for the rest of the season while he was trying to cover 1st on a Jacoby Ellsbury grounder.

The California Angels pounded the New York Yankees once again. Vlad Guerrero triggered a 8 run 8th inning with a HR starting the onslaught. The Angels won 11 – 4.

Tampa Bay came back again, beating the Seattle Mariners in 11 innings 8 – 7. The Rays tied their franchise record for total wins, 70. The Rays stayed 3 1/2 games up on Boston.

The Minnesota Twins took sole possession of 1st place with their 7 – 3 win over the KC Royals. Francisco Liriano looked very good again in his 2nd start back from the DL. The Twins are 1/2 game up on the Pale Hose in the AL Central.

Philadelphia Phillies starter Brett Myers did not like being told “boom…Outta Here” by manager Charlie Manual after 7 2/3 strong inning, arguing with his skipper on the mound and in the dugout during the Phillies 4 – 2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. All seemed calm after the game from all parties.

The New York Mets used huge rookie contributions to stay within 1 game of NL East leaders, the Philadelphia Phillies. Mets outfielder Daniel Murphy ( pinch hit 2 run HR) and starter Brian Stokes (5 2/3 innings, 6 Ks) helped the Mets to the 8 – 6 win over the Florida Marlins.

The St Louis Cardinals playoff hopes got a slight bit brighter with their 12 – 3 win over the NL Central leading Chicago Cubs. Troy Glauss, who was previously hitless against the Cubbies, hit 2 HRs and had 5 RBIs. St Louis’ win puts them 6 games behind the Cubs.

The Milwaukee Brewers gained a game in the standings by beating the Washington Nationals 6 -0. The win marks the 1st time since 1992 that the Brewers has back to back complete game shutouts by their pitching staff. The Brewers are now 4 games behind the Cubs.

The Arizona Diamondback’s playoff push may have taken a monstrous blow Saturday. 2nd Baseman Orlando Hudson broke his wrist attempting a tag. Hudson could be gone for the year. The Atlanta Braves used a 7 run 6th inning to top the D-Backs 11 – 4.

The Los Angeles Dodgers missed a golden opportunity to take sole possession of 1st place in the NL West Saturday, losing to the San Francisco Giants 3 – 2 in 10 innings. Jeff Kent gave the Dodgers the lead with a solo HR in the top of the 10th. Captain Fake Tan aka Jonathan Broxton quickly blew that lead when he had a wild throw home on a squibber, loaded the bases and allowed a line drive through the drawn in infield for a blown save. Manny “I Love LA” Ramirez had 3 more hits for the Dodgers. The win came on the Giants 50th Anniversary in San Francisco which Barry Bonds attended.

Michael Phelps won, what is likely the 1st of many Gold Medals setting a blazing world record of 4:03.84 in the 400M Individual Medley (IM consists of all 4 swimming strokes, freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly).

The Men’s Volleyball team overcomes shock and sadness to win their 1st match of the Olympics.

Dara Torres became the oldest competitor in Olympic swimming to win a medal, when at age 41, the US 4×100 freestyle team took home silver. Torres won her 10th Olympic Medal in her 5th Olympic competition.

US sprinter Tyson Gay feels good in 1st full workout in Beijing.

Denver Broncos linebacker Louis Green was carted off the field in a violent collision in the 1st quarter of Denver’s 19 – 16 loss to the Houston Texans.

Multi-year Multi-Million dollar RB Ryan Gran has a hamstring injury that is causing concern for the Packers.

Brett Favre was a huge hit in his 1st practice with the Jets.

Sports Vortex guest Paul Kuharsky has a nice story on David Garrard and his 1st full off season as starting QB.

The Los Angeles Lakers signed their 2nd round draft pick Sun Yue, who is currently playing for the Chinese Olympic Basketball Team.

Saturday Morning Quick Hits

Well Jason Bay, welcome to Boston!!! Bay scored both Red Sox runs, got on base 4 times, made 2 nice defensive plays and almost hit a walk off HR in the 12 inning. Trust me Mr. Bay, the days won’t all be like this. Bay just missed a HR in the 12 having to settle for a triple. The A’s then intentionally walked JD Drew to get to Jed Lowery, who left the bases loaded in the 10th. Lowery hit a chopper to Alan Embree that was too high to get and too slow for Bobby Crosby so Lowery beat the throw and Bay scored the winning run. Both starters, the A’s Justin Duchscherer and Tim Wakefield both pitched very solid games. The Sox won 2 – 1. More and more is coming out about Manny Ramirez. Gordon Edes has an absolutely bizarre account of Manny’s last Red Sox actions.

The California Angels beat the NY Yankees 1 – 0 in the Bronx. Torri Hunter continued an amazing stretch of offense for him, getting the game winning hit against Mo Rivera in the 9th inning. The win put the Angels 12 1/2 games uop in the AL West and the Yanks 5 games back of Tampa in the AL East.

With the Manny Ramirez show heading west to Los Angeles, The LA Dodgers played NL West leading Arizona Diamondbacks. Chan Ho Park gave up the 1 – 0 lead in the 7th inning with a HR to Tony Clark and a Steven Drew double, and Manny grounded into a 6-4-3 double play in the 9th, to give Arizona a 2 – 1 win. Arizona is now 3 games up on LA in the west.

Pedro Martinez returned to the mound for the Mets Friday night against the Houston Astros. Pedro went 5 good inning allowing 5 hits and 3 solo home runs. The Huston Astros loaded the bases in the bottom of the 8th and pinch hitter and former Red Sox 2nd baseman Mark Loretta launched a grand slam off reliever Aaron Heilman, leading the Astros to the 7 – 4 win over the Mets.

The Philadelphia Phillies missed an opportunity to increase their lead over the Mets, losing to the St Louis Cardinals 6 – 3. Cole Hamels got beat up and former Phillie Kyle Lohse took a no hitter into the 5th and finished with 6 strong innings. The Phillies stayed 1 game up on the Mets.

The Milwaukee Brewers’ offense came to life against the hapless Atlanta Braves in a 9 – 0 win. The win keeps the Brew Crew 3 games back of the Cubs.

Tampa stays 3 games up on the Sox by beating Detroit 5 – 2.

Jeff Karstens paid immediate dividends for the Pittsburgh Pirates, pitching 6 strong inning leading to a shutout of the NL Central leading Chicago Cubs. They beat the Cubs 3 – 0.

Another newcomer, Ken Griffey Jr., helped keep the Chicago White Sox 1/2 game up on the Minnesota Twins, with 2 hits and 2 RBIs and beating the KC Royals 4 – 2.

The Twins kept pace by beating Cleveland 4 -1.

NFL

Steve Smith went Muhammad Ali on Panthers CB Ken Lucas during practice on Friday. The Panthers are weighing disciplinary actions.

ESPN reports, shocker, Todd Sauerbrun suspended from the NFL a second time.

NBA

Ron Artest attempts to smooth things over with Yao.

The law claims another NBA player, Josh Howard arrested for street racing.

Don Nelson wins big arbitration case against Mark Cuban.

Paul Pierce still says he is “the best player in the world“.

SHOCKER!!! College Football

Georgia got 22 1st place votes to take the pre-season poll. The Top 5 teams are Georgia, USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Florida.

Wednesday Morning Quick Hitters

MLB

John Lackey nearly no hit the Red Sox on a night when The California Angels acquired Mark Teixeira. Lil Dusty Pedroia broke up the no hit bid with 1 out in the 9th and YOOOUK followed that up with a 2 run shot over the monster to ruin the complete game shut out bid. The Sox lost 6 – 2, leaving them 2 games behind Tampa Bay.

Speaking of Tampa Bay, they extended their lead on the Sox by shutting out the Toronto Blue Jays 3 – 0. Matt Garza threw his 1st career shutout allowing only 5 hits while striking out 5.

Kevin Millar played Yankee killer again hitting his 2nd home run in as many nights helping the Orioles to a 7 – 6 win. Daniel Cabrera pitched into the 8th inning before getting tossed for intentionally hitting A-Rod after an A Bomb…nope can’t finish it…The loss put the Yankees 4 games back of Tampa Bay.

Game 2 of the NLCS goes to the Cubs. Carlos Zambrano pitched flawlessly for 8 innings and Fukudome and Mark Derosa contributed 2 RBIs a piece to put the Cubs 3 full games up on The Brew Crew. Cubs Win, Cubs Win 7 – 1.

The Minnesota Twins moved to within a 1/2 game of the White Sox, coming back from a 4 -0 deficit to beat Pale Hose 6 -5. Justin Morneau finished off the 5 run 5th inning with a bases clearing double. Clayton Richard took the loss in his 2nd career start.

The New York Mets offense kept going as they put down the Florida Marlins 4 -1, keeping a 1/2 game lead on Philadelphia. Carlos Delgado kept up his HR hitting prowess, smacking another 2 run job in the 8th inning to seal the deal against the Marlins.

The Philadelphia Phillies kept pace with the Mets by beating the Washington Nationals 2 – 1. Brett “Boom…Outta Here” Myers pitched 7 strong innings to help outlast the Nats. The “allegedly” hurt Chase Utley hit a 2 run homer to give Philly all they needed.

Doug Davis pitched 6 2/3 innings of perfect baseball. Brian Giles broke up the perfect game bid with a blazing single in the 7th. Arizona survived a scare in the 8th when the Padres loaded the bases with 2 outs and Jody Gerut blasted a shot to deep centerfield, but rookie cneterfielder Alex Romero made an amazing catch to save the game for Davis. The DBacks won 3 – 0.

Jason Johnson returned to the majors and helped pitch the Los Angeles to a 2 – 0 win over the San Francisco Giants. The LA area had a scare earlier when a 5.3 earthquake rattled Southern California, but the game went on and the Dodgers kept pace with the Arizona DBacks. The Dodgers are 1 game back of Arizona.

NFL

So. Cal’s Sedrick Ellis signed a 5 year $49 Million contract with the New Orleans Saints late Tuesday afternoon. Ellis ends his holdout as $19 million of the contract is guaranteed. Ellis was in camp for the afternoon session

Tried to stay away…Brett Favre signed reinstatement papers and faxed them to the league offices. The Packers try to figure out what comes next.

As previously reported, Terrence Newman is out for 3 to 4 weeks. Goodbye, Newman….

NBA

ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting that Chicago’s Luol Deng is staying put.

Remember, we will do our best today to keep an eye on any trades in MLB before the deadline, and make sure to join us tonight at 9pm for a live edition of “The Sports Vortex”. If you need to catch up, all Vortex shows are archived on the left hand side, you can listen while you read….

Sunday Morning Quick Hitters – AKA The Last Canadian Roundup

Time to come back home! My last post from the Great White North.

The New York Yankees have the 2nd longest post All Star win streak in the last 20 years, 8 games. Andy Pettitte looked outstanding and minus Big Papi and JD Drew, the Sox bats stayed dormant. Justin Masterson came into a 4 – 2 game and the Yankees blew the doors open. With hits from Jeter, Abreu and A-Rod, the game got out of hand. Masterson, who has spent considerable time in the minors working on being a reliever, failed to throw any fastballs in that stretch, and Yankee hitters waited and teed off. Yanks win 10 – 3, moving them 1 game back of the Sox and 3 games back of Tampa Bay.

Ryan Braun, again, powers the Brew Crew to its 9th win in 10 games. Braun’s 4 RBI combined with Bill Hall’s RBI single in the 8th inning, helped beat the Astros 6 – 4. The win moved the Brewers into a tie with the Cubs for 1st place in the NL Central.

Speaking of the Cubbies, The Florida Marlins own The Chicago Cubs, winning 12 of their last 13 meetings. Jeremy Hermida accounted for all 3 runs, with the Marlins winning 3 – 2. Rich Harden, who has pitches great since moving from the A’s, is still winless in a Cubs uniform.

The California Angels are running away with the AL West. Torii Hunter went 4 – 4 with 4 RBIs and 5 runs scored to power the Angels over the Orioles 11 – 6. The win puts the Angels 10 1/2 games up on the Rangers.

The Philadelphia Phillies gave up 9 runs in the 4th inning and still won the game. Mark Teixeira homered to end Atlanta’s scoring in the 4th put up zeros the rest of the way. The Phillies put up 7 of their own in the 7th spurred by Greg Dobbs pinch hit 3 run HR. The Phils win 10 – 9 to stay 1 game behind the Mets.

St Louis blew another late lead, but Albert Pujols saved the day in the 14th. Pujols had 5 hits including the HR in the 14 to beat the Mets 10 – 8.

Other Scores : The Dodgers blanked the Nats 6 -0. LA stays 1 game back of Arizona. TB Rays and Carl Crawford beat the KC Royals 5 – 3, to stay 2 games up on the Red Sox.

Serves you right for not intercepting those 2 passes in the 4th quarter of the non-existant Super Bowl 42. Asante Samuel is hurt for the Philadelphia Eagles.

The New England Patriots added even more depth to the RB position, snapping up Lamont Jordan after his release. Jordan will compete for touches, but the NFL proves you can never have too many RBs.

Sunday Morning Quick Hitters

Join us for a LIVE edition of The Sports Vortex, brought to you by Chicago Dogs, 285 RT 1 Scarborough, ME, to be simulcast on WJZF from 4 to 6 PM EST

MLB Round-Up

Sox lose again in the land of Angels. Beckett looks great for 6 and then gives up 4 in the 7th. Vlad gets it started and Willy Aybar finishes them off. In a related story Air Force One may be making an unscheduled flight from Pawtucket, RI to California. In another related story, people are setting fire to eBay in Portland Maine.

Dan Haren’s 7 scoreless combined with Chad Billingsly’s rough 1st inning, Arizona beat the Dodgers 3 – 2. Former Sox Brandon Lyon made it interesting in the 9th giving up a leadoff HR to Jeff Kent and allowing 1 more to cross, but does just enough to get his 20th save.

Another former Sox (see a trend) Lenny DiNaaaaaaado hit Jose Molina in the 12 to bring home the winning run allowing the Yankees to beat the A’s 4 – 3. The Yanks offense continues its struggles leaving an astounding 21 runners on. Both closers blew leads in this 4 hour and 45 minute marathon.

The Brewers win its 3rd straight game, beating the Giants with offense this time. Prince Fielder homered for the 2nd straight game and Ricky Weeks had a 2 run double to spur the victory. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting the Brewers prospect Darren Ford has been traded to Oakland for Huston Street. There is no MLB confirmation of the deal as of yet.

Evan Longoria blew open a pitchers dual between the Jays Roy Halladay and the Rays Matt Garza, in the 6th inning with his 1st career grand slam. Dan Wheeler closes out the game for his 4th save and moves Tampa 1 1/2 games up on the Sox.

The Cubbies lose their 2nd straight game to the Astros and 3rd straight overall, 4 -1 Saturday, as their bats fall silent again. Carlos Zambrano fell to 10 – 4 on the season, but tried to help his own cause with his second homer of the season in the 7th. Wandy Rodriguez went 6 2/3 for his 5th win of the season.

The Cardinals are steaming back into the race with the Cubs with their 4th straight win. The Cards are now just 2 games back of Chicago. Down by 5, the Cards came back with help from Albert Pujols who went 3 – 4 with 4 RBIs. The Cards bullpen shut out the Padres the rest of the way and the Cards came away with a 6 – 5 victory.

In a wild one in Miami, the Florida Marlins outlast the Phillies 9-5 for the victory. Cody Ross (4 – 5 and a homer short of a cycle) and Jorge Cantu drive the offense for the Marlins. Pat Burrell hit 2 homers for the Phillies. Kevin Gregg made it interesting in the 9th, loading the bases then striking out Ryan Howard on 3 pitches and getting the previously mentioned Burrell to ground out to end the game. The Phils are still 1 game up on the Mets…speaking of the Mets

Josh Fogg continued his resurgence for the Reds, beating the Mets 7 – 2. The Mets looked like the hapless Mets of the Willie Randolph era, hitting into 3 double plays, making errors and taking a called third strike, twice, wit the bases loaded.

Other scores Baltimore Magic struck Luke Scott as he walks off against the Tigers 11 – 10. The Nats rookie John Lannan helps his team over the Braves 8 – 2. Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer help demolish Texas 14 – 2. The win pulls the Twins to 1/2 game back of the White Sox, who lost to the Royals, 9 -1.

Other News

Greg Norman could be the oldest person to win a major PGA event today, as he leads the British Open by 2 strokes with 18 holes to go.

The little QB that could, Doug Flutie, along side JoPa, entered the College Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.

And just for the hell of it, The Indiana Fever beat the New York Liberty 71 – 55 in the WNBA’s first outdoor game. With temps hovering around 90 degrees, the teams did battle on a makeshift court at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open facilities in NYC.

Friday Morning Quick Hitters

Somewhere, Klinger is crying…Papi homers in his PawSox debut, contributing to the rout of the Toledo Mud Hens. Papi vows to play entire rehab stint, in related news loud unidentified exhale sound comes from Portland, Maine.

Twins left-hander Francisco Liriano, dominating in AAA, wonders why he is not back in MLB, considers grievance.

Hideo Nomo retires….apparently the LA Times thinks it only warrants a blog entry.

The Utah Jazz lock up one of the best players in the game, Deron Williams.

David Wright’s late heroics ties game, Delgado singles home Beltran to beat the Reds and pulls even with the Phillies.

PSLs (Personal Seat Licenses) for the new home of the NY Football Giants and the NYJ to range from $1000 for the upper deck to $20,000 in the lower bowl….OUCH!!!

Dallas Mavericks say no-no-no to Josh Howard for Ron Artest deal.