Rays Win...Again

The Tampa Bay Rays scored six runs in the ninth inning, including a walk-off three run homer from Carlos Pena, to defeat the Cleveland Indians in dramatic fashion Wednesday afternoon. The win, Tampa's eighth in their last eleven games brings the Rays' total home wins to 45, tops by far in all of Major League Baseball.

Well, I will be the first to admit that I figured the Rays would be starting to roll over at this point and become the "Devil Rays" of old. Surprisingly, that has not been the case. Their lead over the Boston Red Sox in the AL East is now three games. That is about five more than anyone would have given credit for, even as recently as the All-Star game, if asked for a prediction.

The young guys have apparently bought into themselves being "a team of destiny. Pena, in his post game interview, had the following to say about what they think of this "team of destiny" title...

"That's something that we definitely think about it and envision. We actually see it in reality at the same time. It's very important for us that we also put it in perspective. We know it's great, we're enjoy it, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. We never lose focus in the fact, 'Hey, let's play the game today.' It's most important for us."

It will remain to be seen if they can live up to the billing, but they are certainly starting to make believers out of a lot of people.

Yankees Suffer Big Blow

For the second time this season the New York Yankees have lost their "ace" for what appears to be a significant amount of time. News broke out on Wednesday that the Yankees have placed young pitching thug, I mean stud, Joba Chamberlain on the DL. (Sorry, couldn't help myself.) No word yet officially as to how long he will be out. After being removed from last night's game due to injury, Joba was immediately sent for an MRI and then today met with Dr. Andrews, considered by many to be the foremost shoulder expert when it comes to sports related injuries. The Yankees, as of Wednesday night, are calling it "rotator-cuff tendinitis." Given the process over the last 24 hours they might as well have just called it an upper body injury (ah-la Belichick) as they clearly do not want to spread any major news about a possible serious injury to their best pitcher.

First the loss of Chien-Ming Wang now the loss of Joba. That is another huge blow to the Yankees and their hopes of a run at the AL East or wild card. They will now be forced to rely on Ian Kennedy, who they are expected to recall to take his place in the rotation. If in fact this injury is one that will cause him to miss significant time the Yankees will need the likes of Kennedy, Philip Hughes, and perhaps even Carl Pavano (GASP) to step up if they are to make the playoffs. Hughes and Pavano are both in the process of coming back from injuries themselves.

This injury makes the addition of another arm such as Mariners' Jared Washburn even more likely. Any move they do make will have to be done through the waiver wire.

Brett Favre Won't Go Away

Brett Favre is back in Green Bay, but now the new question is how long will he stay there for? Head coach Mike McCarthy said that Favre "didn't arrive in the "proper mindset", meaning that the Packers QB job still belongs to Aaron Rodgers, and if Brett Favre wants to play in the NFL this year, he won't be doing it in Packers green and gold. Favre himself said that "best thing for this team is for us to part ways."

So where will he go? The Bucs and Vikings appear to be the early favorites, but as we now know with Mr. Favre, we're just going to need to wait and see.


-quotes from espn.com

New Guys Come Up Big

Saturday night belonged to the "new guy" as several deadline deal acquisitions came up with big hits to help their respected teams win.

Xavier Nady had his first real breakout game with the New York Yankees as he went four for five including a double, homer, and six RBI en route to a 14-9 Yankees win over the LA Angels. New comer Pudge Rodriguez also homered for the Pin Stripes.

Elsewhere in the American League, Jason Bay continued to swing a hot bat for the Boston Red Sox as they defeated the Oakland A's by the score of 5-2. Bay had a pair of hits
in a winning effort for the Sox who have now won three in a row.

In the National League Manny Rodriguez went four for five, including his second homerun in as many days, to lead the LA Dodgers to a 9-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Manny has been red hot since leaving the Sox going 8 for 12 with two homeruns in three games with the Dodgers.

Aaron Rodgers Can't Be A Happy Guy

It happened. He's back. Brett Favre is a Green Bay Packer, Again. NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell has reinstated 38 year old who will show up at Packers camp on Monday. The big news, reported by ESPN is that there will now be an open competition for who is to be the Packers starting Quaterback for the 2008 season. The starting job, which belonged to Aaron Rodgers after Favre "retired", will now be a showdown between the gunslinger and the kid who just wants a chance.

If I were Aaron Rodgers, I would want out of Green Bay. It seems like Favre has this organization wrapped around his finger. In Green Bay, what Favre wants Favre gets. If you think Rodgers will win the starting job, think again.

Agree? Disagree? Waybackemail@gmail.com

Smith Out For Two

Carolina Panther's star wide receiver Steve Smith has been suspended for the first two games of the 2009 season following an altercation with cornerback Ken Lucas at training camp on Friday. While the starters were resting following a series of drills at Friday's practice Smith struck Lucas in the face leaving him with a broken nose and a black eye. The two have always had a little rivalry in practice, according to coach John Fox, but it had never been more than a little taunt here and there until now. The incident will cost Smith roughly $200,000.

It is not uncommon for little skirmishes to break out during training camp. In fact, last week at Dolphins' camp first round draft pick Jake Long and second round pick Phillip Merling got in a pushing and shoving match following a few intense one on one drills. Things like this happen. Some coaches actually like to see a little fire out of their players at camp, but what Smith did went too far. A little pushing and shoving is one thing but sucker punching a guy is another story. The sad thing is that it will cost the team as much as it will cost Smith, as they will now be with out their top offensive threat for the first two games of the season.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

The USA Today has released its College Football pre-season top 25. Leading the list is Georgia, lead by the QB/RB tandem of Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno. Moreno looks to be an early favorite for the Hesiman Trophy. Behind Georgia is perennial powerhouse USC, whose week 2 match-up versus pre-season #3 Ohio State could be a potential game of the year. The big 12 is represented with Oklahoma as the #4 team in the land, who is lead by sophomore QB Sam Bradford, who threw for 36 touchdowns last year. Rounding out the top 5 are the Tim Tebow-lead Florida Gators. Tebow, who was the Heisman last year, is trying to join Archie Griffin as the only two-time winner of the award.

The rest of the top 25:
6. LSU
7. Missouri
8. West Virgina
9. Clemson
10. Texas
11. Auburn
12. Wisconsin
13. Kansas
14. Texas Tech
15. Virgina Tech
16. Arizona State
17. BYU
18. Tennessee
19. Illinois
20. Oregon
21. South Florida
22. Penn State
23. Wake Forest
24. Michigan
25. Fresno State

I look for Texas Tech to turn some heads this year with QB Graham Harrell and his top WR Michael Crabtree being a tandem that will create havoc for CB's all year long. Fresno State and BYU look to be this years Hawaii, while Kansas and South Florida try to prove they weren't a one year wonder. Clemson will battle with Virgina Tech for the ACC crown, though the Tigers have a knack for blowing big games. Did your team not crack the top 25? Don't worry about it, it's just the pre-season. Think your team got snubbed? Lets hear about it! waybackemail@gmail.com

Packers-Farve "Lets make a deal"

The Green Bay Packers might have just made Brett Farve an offer too good to pass up. The Packers have reportedly offered Farve $20 million to retire as a Packer and stay that way. Should Farve agree to the deal it would put an end to the two month long saga that has been going on between the two sides.

In an interview with ESPN yesterday Farve had the following comment regarding the offer.

"There isn't a perfect solution to this, but Mark Murphy is at least trying. We know what they want and where I stand. His solution, although awkward and unsettling for most, may be the best in the end."

Getting $20 million to never have to take a hit again sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Then again, I'm not Brett Farve. I suppose you can't put a price on competitive drive, but the Packers sure have tried. Bret has made it clear that he wants to play again, but the Packers don't want him back and he is not going to make a team an instant Superbowl contender via trade. His chances of winning another Superbowl, whether it be with Green Bay or elsewhere, are slim. He might as just take the money and hang them up. No sense risking injury to, at best, finish in the same position he did after last season.

A Night of Standing Ovations

Last night marked the first night with their respected new ball clubs for several big names in MLB.

Jason Bay's 13th inning triple set himself up to score the game winning run on Jed Lowire's infield single. Bay, who got standing ovations several times throughout the game, finished 1 for 3 on the night and scored both runs in the Red Sox 2-1 victory.

Elsewhere in the American League, newly acquired White Sox outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI to lead first place Chicago to a 4-2 victory. Griffey nearly added more to his total as he just missed a home run in the fourth inning.

In the National League, Manny Ramirez made his debut as a member of the LA Dodgers. Manny had a pair of singles in the game, finishing 2 for 4, but it was not enough as the Dodgers fell 2-1 to the Diamondbacks.

New World #1

I realize that for the average sports fan in the United States, tennis is not a very popular topic. It may not have the flash or recognizable figures that baseball or basketball have. With that said, something will happen next week that deserves some recognition. Roger Federer has been on top of the tennis world for the past 235 consecutive weeks. Thats over four year as the best in the world at one particular sport. Thats over 1600 consecutive days. That is amazing. Next week, however, that will all change. With Federer's first round lost and Rafael Nadal's 32 match (and counting) win streak, the next time the world rankings come out (Aug, 18th) it will be Nadal, not Federer, whose name will be next to #1.

Here's to a great run by a hell of an athlete. It will be very interesting to see how this motivates Federer. As an ocassional tennis fan, the matches between Federer and Nadal over the past few years, particularly in majors, has been something special to watch. These guys are some of the best athletes in the world. If you have never seen these two play head-to-head before do yourself a favor and give it a chance one of these days. You may be surprised at what you see.