U.S. Open Tennis Preview

The American Grand Slam event takes place from this Monday up until Sunday, September 9th. The hard, blue court makes for fast excellent Tennis and the fans are among the rabid in the world. The electrifying atmosphere that is the Open Championship is vastly underrated because the sport is far from mainstream. All the matches are played basically next to each other at the same time, making it a crazed heaven for Tennis junkies. Imagine the NCAA Tournament all played at one site. I went to first and second round matches last year, and became hooked. Woman's 11th seed Patty Schnyder, loves the atmosphere at Flushing Meadows.

"I think it's great. " Schnyder said. "There are so many fans from different countries come to support us. People travel from all over the world."

On the ladies side, the Swiss support Schnyder, and of course Roger Federer on the men's side. Spain, France, and Russia all have big time stars on their side traveling to the events and matches. Justin Henin is the top seed on the womens side, and all of Belgium greatly support their biggest Tennis star. Expect a quarterfinal matchup with either 8th seed Serena Williams, or French 10 seed Marion Bartoli. The Serbain women have really made named for themselves on tour, and 3rd seed Jelena Jankovic highlights the 2nd section. Her countrymate and 5th seed Ana Ivanovic is at the bottom of the bracket, and is a force to be reckoned with. She's 3-1 head to head with Jankovic. 14th seed Elena Dementieva and 12th seed Venus Williams would make for a great 3rd round match and would be potential spoilers for the Serbs. Russian 7th seed Nadia Petrova leads the 3rd section, and could face either 9th seed Slovokian Daniela Hantuchova, or 16 seed Martina Hingis, who has vast experience in New York. 4th seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova has an easy draw on the bottom of the bracket. Russian 6th seed Anna Chakvetadze is at the top of the bracket, but could run into trouble in the 3rd round with the 26th seed Sania Mirza. The Indian has made headlines worldwide for her nationality and stellar play. Schnyder and 13th seeded Czech Nicole Vaidisova could also be threats in the round of 16. 2nd seed Maria Sharapova is on the bottom of the bracket along with 18th seeded Israeli Shahar Pe'er.

On the mens side, the big story is the emergence of another Serbian named Novack Djokovic. The 3rd seed is coming on really strong and is quickly rising to the levels of the top two in Federer and Rafael Nadal. Tennis Magazine Senior Editor Peter Bodo analyzes Djokovic's game, and points out that he's a big threat to the top two.

"Novak is a huge threat. The crazy thing is, neither I nor a number of people I know were surprised that Djokovic beat the top 3 players in the world in back-to-back matches in Montreal just three weeks ago. I think the biggest thing that Djokovic needs in order to beat Federer as well as Nadal is a slightly greater willingness to attack. On the other hand, he's been holding his own as a kind of all-court power-based liner just fine, and there's no doubt that his progression towards the top has been orderly as well as predictable. But yeah, I've been saying this kid is the real deal since before he was."

Federer is the top seed in the first section, and will have to likely play a tough wild card Rainer Schuettler in round two. 21st seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero will likely be his first test, and 13th seed Richard Gasquet or 9 seed Tomas Berdych could be next. Young American Donald Young could foil the 13th seeded Frenchman. Ultimately though, 5th seed Andy Roddick is set to face Federer in the quarterfinal, which would be a finals worthy matchup because Roddick plays so well on hardcourt with his powerful serves.

4th seeded Nikolay Davydenko leads the 2nd section, and will likely face the tough German Nicolas Kiefer in the 2nd round. Rising Brit and 19 seed Andy Murray will be a threat to Davydenko, but experienced Swede Jonas Bjorkman will challange the powerful Murray. 10th seeded German Tommy Haas is also in the section, and could face tough Slovak Dominik Hrbaty early on. 18th seeded Marcos Baghdatis will also be a threat, but will likely take on Sebastian Grosjean in roun two. They will likely have to take on the man at the bottom of the bracket, 6th seeded American James Blake.

8th seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo leads section 3, and will run into a hot Mardy Fish in round two, who's having a great Pilot Pen tournament in Connecticut. Robredo will also be challanged by fellow countryman and 17 seed Carlos Moya. 11th seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny will also be a threat, and will have a great 3rd round match against 16th seeded Australian Lleyton Hewitt, if Hewitt can get by American Amer Delic in round one. Djokovic headlines the bottom of the bracket as the 3rd seed, and could face a 2nd round test from Radek Stepanek, 23rd seed Juan Monaco, or 31st seed Jurgen Melzer.
Chilean 7th seed Fernando Gonzalez is at the top of section 4, but will be really challanged in round two against American Robby Ginepri. Gonzalez will also be challanged by 25th seed Marat Safin, who has a lot of major experience. Croatian 12th seed Ivan Ljubicic and 15th seed David Ferrer could also be opponents for Gonzalez in the round of 16. The bottom of the bracket belongs to 2nd seed Rafael Nadal, who has never won at the US Open. On his side is the tough 24th seeded David Nalbandian. The best match in the first round comes on this side, as 27th seeded Russian Dmitry Tursonov faces British hero Tim Henman.
Watch the ESPN family of networks and CBS for all the fantastic and exciting action at the Open. You won't want to miss it. Stay here at SprungOnSports for daily Open updates on sprungonsports.blogspot.com

Around The Majors- Friday

I'll recap yesterday's games, go through the standings, get to the news and notes, and preview a pivotal weekend of race altering ganes. Let's do this.

Thursday Recap
Jake Westbrook went 8 scoreless innings and Nate Robertson went 8 and two thirds scoreless in a huge battle between the two teams fighting for the AL Central crown. The game needed extra innings, but the Tribe then scored 3 runs off of flamethrower Joel Zumaya including a bases loaded two run single by Chris Gomez and beat the Tigers 3-1 in 10. Minnesota scored 4 in the 8th to beat Baltimore 5-2. Jason Kubel drove in 2 to help out winning starter Boof Bonser. Mike Piazza went 4-5 with a homer and 5 RBI's as Oakland trounced Tampa Bay 12-2. Jack Cust homered and drove in 3 to help out Chad Gaudin. Boston and the White Sox were postponed by rain. Ichiro drove in 3 and Jeff Weaver continued his solid pitching as the Mariners ripped the Rangers 9-4. Brad Wilkerson homered and drove in 2 in the loss. Matt Stairs drove in 2 including the go ahead run in the 5th as Jesse Litch pitched Toronto past the Angels 5-4. Vlad Guerrero homered twice with 3 ribs, but it wasn't enough for the Halos.
The Dodgers scored 3 in the 8th to reward Chad Billingsley's solid effort as Los Angeles bested Philadelphia 5-2. Ramon Martinez drove in 2 for the Dodgers. Josh Phelps went 4-5 with 3 RBI's and Pittsburgh cooled Colorado 5-1. Paul Maholm pitched 7 strong for the win. Matt Cain outdueled Carlos Zambrano as the Giants edged the Cubs 4-1. Dave Roberts drove in 2 for San Fran. Atlanta's free fall continues. Adam Dunn hit a walkoff 2 run homer in the 12th off of Bob Wickman to defeat the Braves 9-7. Chipper Jones drove in 5 in the loss. Once again, both Trevor Hoffman and Billy Wagner blew saves. I've never seen two of the best closers of all time perform this badly at the same time, in the same series. Anyway, Adrian Gonzalez homered in the 10th off of Aaron Heilman and former Met Heath Bell picked up the save as the Padres beat the Mets 9-8. Bradley, Bard, and Marcus Giles each drove in two for the Friars. Washington scored 5 times in the 1st inning and held on to nip Houston 7-6. Carlos Lee drove in 5 in the loss. Josh Willingham had 2 homers and 6 RBI's as Florida crushed the Cards 11-3. St Louis committed 4 errors in the game.

Standings
Boston holds a 5 game lead over the Yankees in the AL East. Tampa has lost 7 of 10. Cleveland is 2.5 clear of Detroit in the AL Central. The Tigers have lost 7 of 10 and Chicago has lost 8 of 10. Seattle has won 7 of 10 and have closed to within a game of first place Los Angeles in the AL West. Oakland has won 5 in a row and 8 of 10 to get over .500. The Mets have won 7 of 10 and own a 5 game lead on Philly and a 6 game advantage over Atlanta in the NL East. Florida has lost 8 of 10 and is now in last place. The Cubs lead the Brewers by a half game in the NL Central. Milwaukee has lost 7 of 10 and St Louis has won 7 of 10 and are 3 games back. The Reds have won 7 of 10. Arizona leads San Diego by 3 in the NL West, and the Dodgers by 5.5. Colorado has lost 7 of 10. Seattle now has a 2 game lead over the Yankees for the AL Wild Card. Detroit is 5 back. The Padres lead the Phillies by 2 games in the NL Wild Card, and the Dodgers by 2.5. Atlanta is 3 back, Milwaukee is 3.5 back, and Colorado is 4.5 behind the Pads.

News and Notes
- Akinori Otsuka will be out for the season with elbow problems. He'll be shut down for the remainder of the campaign.
- Edgar Renteria is back on the DL with ankle problems, Martin Prado was recalled. Baltimore sent Garrett Olson to rookie ball. Jon Lester was sent down to AA and Royce Clayton was signed to a minor league deal by Boston. Detroit activated Andrew Miller and sent down Zach Miner. Craig Monroe was dealt to the Cubs for a PTBNL. Rick White was called up by Seattle, replacing John Parrish. Adam Melhuse was designated for assignment.

Weekend Preview
Friday
Beckett and Garland go in the first game of a day night twinbill as the Sox Red and White face off at 2. Schilling and Danks go in the 8pm nightcapper. Santana faces Guthrie in B'More as the Twins look to keep their slim hopes alive. Clemens and Miller go in Detroit, and CC Sabathia faces starter turned reliever now turned starter again Zach Greinke. King Felix faces Millwood in Texas and Halladay faces Weaver in LA.
Maddux-Moyer, Willis-Harang, and Penny-Perez make for some good matchups. Snell pitches in Houston, Smoltz in St Louis, and Hill-Francis in Denver. Lowry pitches against the Brewers.
Saturday
The Sox battle and Mets-Dodgers are the 4pm FOX games, everything else is at night. Garza in Baltimore, Wang-Bonderman in the Motor City, and Blanton-Kazmir in Tampa. Marcum faces Saunders in LA.
Hudson and Piniero face off in the STL, and Ted Lilly faces the Snakes.
Sunday
Phil Hughes tries to tame Jurrjens and the Tigers, Bedard faces Minnesota, and Haren battles the Rays. Vazquez battles Boston, Carmona-Meche in KC, and McGowan faces Escobar.
Chris Young might face the Phils, Busg definitely faces Lincecum in SF, Marquis and Davis in Phoenix, and David Wells makes his Dodgers debut against Maine and the Mets (8pm ESPN).

Hot Topic Thursday- N.F.L.

As the season quickly approaches and Tom Brady welcomes a new son into his life, I'll actually talk about the important stuff. Today's focus, the chances (or lack thereof) of the Cleveland Browns, and a dynamic QB controversy in Carolina. I'll be joined today by Gary Horton of Scouts' INC.

Brady Quinn has been playing for just over a week, and he already seems like the best option for Cleveland. That doesn't say a lot about Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson, who are competing with the rookie for the starting gig. The offense has some weapons in Jamal Lewis, Kellen Winslow, and Braylon Edwards, but they won't get the ball if it can't be thrown to them on a consistent basis. Though there is some talent on the club, the Browns will be in for a bad year because their talent doesn't stack up in a tough AFC North, according to Horton.
"I think they are headed for a very tough year, in a very good division, where they are not even close in talent to the other three teams."
The Bengals have an excellent offense, Baltimore has a top two defense, and the Steelers have nice talent on both sides of the ball. Horton then said that Lewis will be the key to this club, because if he fails, that means that the team will have to rely on the quarterbacks to succeed.
"Without a running game they maybe forced to lean on one of their QBs, and right now that position is up for grabs."
Like next year's election, the Browns job is up for grabs but lacks a clear cut solid candidate. Horton finished off the topic by saying that even a surprising Quinn won't get Cleveland to where they want to go.
"I just do not see them being very competitive in the North, even if Brady Quinn somehow emerges and becomes the starter."

Last week against the Eagles, David Carr was 7/13 for 111 yards and Jake Delhomme was 9/18 for 78 yards and a pick. Two weeks ago against the Giants, Carr was 6/8 for 83 yards and a TD while Delhomme was 5/8 for 30 yards and a TD. Do the math folks, the former Houston Texan and number one overall selection is flat out playing better then his counterpart Delhomme. This is causing quite the stir in Charlotte, as a QB controversy is emerging. Perhaps Carr was never able to reach his full potential with an awful O-line in Houston and is finally realizing his abilities for the Panthers. Gary Horton sums up the QB situation.
"I am still a little bit of a Delhomme fan. But I like both QBs. They are charcater guys, with good physical skills and I do not think Carr's situation is Houston was his fault. "
With a new start and a change of scenery if you will, Carr is showing what everyone thought he could always do, and Delhomme is showing his usual, erratic self. So does Carr have a shot at the starting job? Horton said that Delhomme would really have to mess up for Carr to win the job.
"But in my mind, Delhomme would have to really play lousy for a long time to lose this job, because he has been a good leader and a winner."
Delhomme is one of those players whose leadership skills outweighs his talent and performance. He's been to the playoffs multiple times and has won a conference title for Carolina. He's the best signal caller in franchise history, and that buys him a lot of loyalty and cred among his superiors on the coaching staff and in the front office. Carr still has a lot to prove, and will have to do a lot more to wrestle the job away.
"I do not think I would make that move yet. But that may become a very interesting QB situation to watch."
Very interesting, indeed. My thanks to Gary Horton for the wonderful insight.

The ongoing QB battle in Jacksonville continues on the national stage as they travel to Lambeau to take on the Pakcers tonight at 8pm eastern on FOX. The Panthers will be on CBS on Friday night at 8 eastern against New England, who may not have Brady for the game who just had his first child. Sunday night on NBC, the Steelers take on the Eagles and the Falcons and Bengals do battle on MNF on ESPN.

History In Baltimore!!!!!!!!!

The Texas Rangers have scored the most runs in a single game in the modern post-1900 era as they've put across 30 runs against the Orioles and have a 30-3 lead. 5 runs in the 4th, 9 runs in the 6th, 10 runs in the 8th, and 6 runs in the 9th has accounted for the 30 runs. This is the most runs since 1900, 1 more than Boston who scored 29 on June 8th 1950. 2 runs scored on a single by Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and then Ramon Vazquez hit a 3 run homer to take a 5-3 lead. In the 6th, Salty hit a solo shot to center, Marlon Byrd hit a grand slam, Salty was up again and had an RBI single, Vazquez had an RBI single, Frank Catalanatto had an RBI single, and Ian Kinsler had an RBI single. By then it was only 14-3. In the 8th, Cattlanotto had a run scoring single, Kinsler had a ribbie single, and Travis Metcalf hit a grand slam to make it 20-3. The inning continued as David Murphy had an RBI base hit, and Saltalamacchia hit a 3 run shot to make it 24-3 going into the 9th. Jason Botts had a 2 run double to make it 26-3, and Murphy had a run scoring single. Vazquez then hit a 3 run homer off of Paul Shuey over the right field high wall at Oriole Park at Camden Yards to set the modern era record for runs in a game at 30. It was a game I'll never forget, in fact check out this wacky box score. Look at the 3 Oriole relievers and look at their ERA's. Shuey's ERA is at 9.5! Also Wes Littleton pitched 3 innins to close out the game, automatically earning the save- in a 27 run win, 9 times above the usual save situation! This will be a game I'll never forget, when on Wednesday the twenty second of August, history was made in Baltimore.

Around The Majors- Wednesday

Wild finishes, amazing performances, and a lot more went down last night. I'll recap all the games from Tuesday in an abridged ATM.

Tuesday Recap
Erik Bedard struck out 11 Rangers, and Tejada and Huff each homered and drove in two as Baltimore bashed Texas 6-2. Jhonny Peralta got the only hit (a homer) off of Detroit pitching as the Tigers edged Cleveland 2-1. Ordonez and Guillen homered in the 5th off of Fausto Carmona as Jair Jurrjens and co shut down the Tribe. Dan Haren struck out 9 over 6 innings and Dan Johnson drove in a pair as Oakland tamed Toronto 6-4. Wells and Thomas each drove in a pair for the Jays. Boston scored 5 in the 4th to defeat Tampa 8-6. Crisp and Lugo each drove in 2 for the Red Sox, Akinori Iwamura had 3 RBI's for the Rays. Adrian Beltre homered and drove in 2 as the Mariners mauled Minnesota 7-2. Michael Cuddyer drove in the Twins runs. Jim Thome homered and drove in 3 as the White Sox beat the Royals 5-2. Emil Brown drove in the runs for KC. Garrett Anderson put out the hitting performance of the year last night. He hit a 2 runs double in the first, an RBI two-bagger in the 2nd, a 3 run homer in the 3rd, and a grand slam in the 6th as the Angels pummeled the Yankees 18-9. That's 10 driven in for Anderson if you weren't counting. A-Rod had 2 homers and Wilson Betemit drove in 3 for New York, who got yet another terrible outing from Mike Mussina.
Aaron Rowand hit a 2 run homer in a 5-4 Phillies win over the Dodgers. Jorge Cantu drove in 3 as the Reds edged the Braves 8-7. Yunel Escobar, Andruw Jones, and Brian McCann each drove in 2 in the loss for Atlanta. In a wild affair at Shea, the Padres scored a run off of Billy Wagner in the 9th to take a 6-5 lead. New York then got 2 in the 9th off of Trevor Hoffman to pull out a big 7-6 win. Carlos Beltran continues his hot streak, homering and driving in 5 for the Mets. Ryan Zimmerman homered and drove in 4 as the Nationals humbled Houston 11-6. Craig Biggio homered and drove in 4 in the loss for the Astros. The Cardinals continue their magic, scoring 4 in the 8th off of Armando Benitez to shock the Marlins 5-2. Ryan Ludwick hit a big 2 run homer in the 8th for St Louis. Ian Stewart homered and drove in 4 as the Rockies punished the Pirates 9-2. Gabe Gross hit a grand slam in a 5 run 7th as the Brewers slithered past the Snakes 7-4. Cliff Floyd and Jason Kendall each drove in 2 runs in a 5 run 9th as the Cubs shocked the Giants 5-1.

Michael Vick Pleads Guilty

Those could be the four biggest words that will happen in the sports year of 2007. With Vick being the only one involved that hadn't already plead guilty to illegal dogfighting charges and a possibility of more ramped up charges, Vick worked out a deal with prosecutors and will now face jail time. The Atlanta QB could face up to as much as five years in prison and a fine of 250 grand. Vick will now "accept full responsibility" for being in a dogfighting ring and will plead to federal conspiracy charges. According to sources close to the proceedings, the prosecution will recommend 12-18 months in the slammer for the former VaTech signal caller. U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson will have the final say on the sentence, which will likely be more than what's usually given to first time offenders. The court wants to send a message that animal abuse is serious, and won't be treated lightly. A hearing is scheduled for next Monday. Vick's lawyer Billy Martin said that Vick will take full responsibility for his actions.
"Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made. Michael wishes to apologize again to everyone who has been hurt by this matter."
The league released a statement that Vick's future plea doesn't fall in line with what he told Roger Goodell after he was charged. Vick will likely be suspended indefinitely.
"We totally condemn the conduct outlined in the charges, which is inconsistent with what Michael Vick previously told both our office and the Falcons." The league said.
The Falcons were told to hold off any actions until the league finishes its own investigation. Atlanta will likely seek to get back some of the 22 million dollar signing bonus if Vick is suspended by the league. The team already was prepared to eat Vick's $8.5 million salary cap hit this season, though the NFL is expected to grant a roster exemption.
The very beginning of this story was reported here first exactly three and a half months ago on May 6th.

(5/6/07)
Though it won't get that much publicity, this is a newsworthy story. The Humane Society of the United States would like the league to suspend Michael Vick for illegal dogfighting that was found in his Virginia home. Police in that state were doing a raid of the home owned by Vick for drugs (not his drugs) but many dogs were found who were found to be involved in dogfighting. Some dogs were hurt or poorly fed, and other items of dogfighting gear were also found at the home. The Humane Society wrote a letter to commissioner Goodell to "collaborate with us in an organized effort to eradicate animal cruelty and illegal animal fighting activity from the ranks of the NFL. We believe that the current situation involving Michael Vick is indicative of a larger subculture within the NFL of dogfighting and other forms of violence against animals," The Society believes that Vick was involved in dogfighting long before this incident. Vick has said that he owns the house, but said that his cousin lives there and that he was never there, teammate Johnathan Babineaux is facing felony charges in the death of his girlfriend's dog.

-It sure got publicity all right. Nobody really made much of this story, and most people including myself thought that I'd never head anything from this story ever again. On May 20th, Congress got involved, and I was actually against it. But now I realized that Vick could be in a decent amount of trouble.

(5/20/07)
There can't be a week in sports without Congress getting their noses involved. California representative Tom Lantos of the reform committee, which held the steroids hearings a couple of years back is urging the league to come down hard on alleged dogfight leader Michael Vick. "I am outraged that one of the National Football League's superstars is affiliated with such a heinous enterprise," Good for you, so am I. But the congressman should know his role and let the NFL take care of its players. I'm sure there are many more things in this country to reform, and as usual, the House wants the spotlight. Grow up, elected officials should do what the voters elected them to do, not be involved in some glorified sideshow.

-At that time, it was a glorified sideshow. How things escalated over the next two months shocked the world. Tom Lantos may have been criticized by people, he was ahead of his time and was on top of the situation. If Lantos was actually listened to, Vick woud already be in the slammer. The Vick case went cold soon after because there wasn't enough evidence to get him. It looked like Vick may get out of the situation unscathed.

(5/27/07)
A report said that there is still serious evidence missing from the Michael Vick dogfighting case. It may look like he's off the hook for now. The dogfighting prosecutor said that the Vick investigation was moving forward, and that charges would be brought, but it was not known on whom they'd be brought.

-It took some time, but the investigation brought charges on several people who pled guilty and forced Vick's hand into a plea of his own.

(6/3/07)
AirTran airways has decided not to renew their contract with Michael Vick to be their pitchman.

-They were the first of many companies to pull Vick, and hurt his cred along with his wallet. The investigation went on, and on July 8th it looked as if Vick would be off the hook for good.

(7/8/07)
Michael Vick won't be investigated in a federal dogfighting probe, leaving him to be overrated for many years to come.

-A week later, ther investigation really gained steam and here is where it all started going down.

(7/15/07)
The dogfights on Michael Vick's property followed very strict rules, authorities say. The fighting at Vick's house violated federal law by sponsoring or otherwise taking part in fights for which animals were transported across state lines. Vick has denied any involvement in dogfighting. Regardless, by giving such a detailed account in court documents, prosecutors are sending strong signals about their investigation's focus.

-Vick was charged two days later, and he pled guilty about a month after that, changing the landscape of the Falcons, the NFL, and the sporting world.

Around The Majors- Monday

I'll recap Sunday's action, go through news and notes, and we'll see what's on tap for today here on ATM.

Sunday Recap
Wilson Betemit drove in 4 and Hideki Matsui had 3 RBI's as the Yankees took 3 out of 4 from Detroit with a 9-3 win at Yankee Stadium. Roy Halladay and Jeremy Guthrie had a pitchers duel that needed extra innings to decide. Aaron Hill's sac fly off of Chad Bradford in the 10th gave Toronto a 3-2 victory over Baltimore. Sabathia and Shields also had a duel that went into extra frames, and a Joel Guzman single in the 12th won it for the Rays 4-3. Victor Martinez drove in 2 in the loss for the Tribe. Joe Saunders pitched a fantastic game as the Angels bested Boston 3-1. Julian Taverez took the tough luck loss. Johan Santana may have had his best career start yesterday, pitching a complete game two hit shutout while striking out a Minnesota record 17 batters as the Twins tamed Texas and Kevin Millwood 1-0. Marco Scutaro went 4-4 with a homer and 2 driven in as Oakland defeated KC 6-1. Jose Guillen drove in 5 as Seattle beat up Jon Garland and the ChiSox 11-5. Jerry Owens drove in 2 for the Pale Hose. Mark Teixeira homered twice and drove in 4 as John Smoltz struck out 12 to take over the all time Braves record in a 6-2 win over Arizona to salvage the last game in the set. The Giants scored 3 in the 7th to edge the Marlins 6-5. Ray Durham drove in 2 for Frisco. Carlos Beltran homered twice as the Mets scored 4 in the 8th to sweep Washington 8-2. Marlon Anderson and Shawn Green each drove in a pair for New York. The Pirates pushed across 7 in the 7th to fry the Phillies 8-4. Matt Kata hit a pinch hit 3 run double and Xavier nady drove in 2 for the Bucs. The Reds scored 2 in the 8th to earn a wild 7-6 win over the Brewers that saw a combined 6 homers. Phillips, Dunn, and Valentin each drove in 2 for the Reds. San Diego edged the Astros 5-3, the Dodgers beat the Rockies 4-3, and Cubs-Cards was postponed by rain.

News and Notes
- The White Sox resigned Jermaine Dye to a 2 year, 22 million dollar extension. Apparently, Chicago wants to reload rather then rebuild. Can't say that i agree with this plan.
- Double-A Montgomery pitcher James Houser tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance, and was suspended 50 games.
- Yusmeiro Petit was activated yesterday to lose yesterday's game for the Snakes. Cliff Floyd was moved to the retricted list by the Cubs, Joel Zumaya will give a huge boost to the Tigers off of the DL, and the White Sox inked Mike Myers as a lefty for the stretch run. Damion Easley was placed on the DL with a severe ankle sprain, Anderson Hernandez was recalled.

Monday On Tap
Ortiz and Mitre do battle as the Giants and Marlins complete their series in Miami. Joel Piniero has been excellent in his stint with St Louis, he faces Ted Lilly and the Cubs in day action. The Braves need to get back in the NL East race, they send Tim Hudson to the mound against Phil Dumatrait and the Reds. Redding and Jennings go in Houston, and youngster Ubaldo Jimenez leads Colorado against Matt Morris and the Pirates. Big series in the desert as Doug Davis and the Snakes face Yovani Gallardo and Milwaukee.
Padilla faces Cabrera in Baltimore and Blanton faces Marcum in Toronto. Boston wants to keep it's lead in the AL East, they send Tim Wakefield against Scott Kazmir. The Mariners want to keep their WC lead, Horacio Ramirez goes in Minnesota against Matt Garza. Meche and Buehrle go in Chicago, and Phil Hughes faces Dustin Moseley as the Angels and Yankees throw down in LA (10pm ESPN)

Sunday Football Fix

Game recaps and news and notes with 3 weeks until Kickoff 2007.

Week 2 Recaps
It was a defensive battle in Trent Green's return to Kansas City and the Dolphins came away with an 11-10 win. Atlanta edged Buffalo 13-10 as the Falcons scored late in the game led by QB Chris Redman. Trent Edwards and Lee Evans had good games for the Bills. Philadelphia roughed up the Panthers 27-10 led by Matt Schobel and excellent QB play. Tony Hunt rushed for 2 TD's for the Eagles. David Carr continues to outplay Jake Delhomme, and a QB controversy could emerge. The Titans got a late field goal to best the Patriots 27-24. Kerry Collins and Chris Brown had good games for Tennessee and the Pats had 4 turnovers in the contest, 2 on Tom Brady interceptions. Minnesota outscored the Jets 37-20. Adrian Peterson had 8 carries for 70 yardsand a TD, and Chad Pennington threw 2 picks for the Jets. Leon Washington ran well for New York. The Matt's Schaub and Leinart each had nice performances, but Houston defeated Arizona 33-20. Owen Daniels did well for the Texans, and the Cards were paced by Ahmad Merritt and larry Fitzgerald. Cleveland scored 20 unanswered in the 4th quarter but fell to Detroit 23-20. Brady Quinn threw for 2 TD's and Jon Kitna played excellently for the Lions. Jerome Harrison caught 6 passes for 71 yards for the Browns, and the team had 3 turnovers to none for the Lions. McAllister, Bush, and Pittman each had rushing TD's as New Orleans beat Cincy 27-19. Lance Moore had a solid recieving game for the Saints. David Garrard outperformed Byron Leftwich as the Jaguars bested the Bucs 31-19. Gradkowski and Garcia both performed well for Tampa. Marion Barber rushed for 2 TD's as the Cowboys busted the Broncos 31-20. Tyson Thompson and Tony Romo also had solid games, and Patrick Ramsey and Brian Clark had good games for Denver. Green Bay routed Seattle 48-13 as the teams combined for 11 turnovers. David Greene threw 3 picks for Seattle, and Aaron Rodgers, Brandon Jackson, and James Jones had big games for the Packers. Phil Rivers, Billy Volek, and Michael Turner led the Bolts past the Rams 30-13. Gus Ferotte paced the Rams, as did Marques Haggins and Drew Bennett. Pittsburgh scored 9 unanswered in the 4th quarter to slide past Washington 12-10. Santonio Homes and Chris Cooley were the offensive stars on both sides. Alex Smith and Ashley Lelie led the 49ers past the Raiders 26-21. The Giants and Ravens play tonight at 8 on NBC, and the Bears and Colts tussle on MNF on ESPN.

News and Notes
- Redskins QB Jason Campbell suffered a bruised knee last night, it's not serious but it was heavily wrapped on the sidelines last night.
- Daunte Culpepper looked good last night as he tries to win the Oakland job over Andrew Walter and Josh McCown. JaMarcus Russell is nowhere near a contract.
- Travis Henry sprained his knee last night and Mike Bell strained his hip in a loss to the Cowboys last night. Ebenezer Ekuban brought the real sad news to the team, as he tore an achilles tendon and will miss the entire season.
- Vinny Testaverde signed with the Patriots and the Jags dropped Tim Couch.