The Chicago Cubs have signed one versatile player and traded another.
Early this morning, it was announced that the Cubs had signed Aaron Miles to a two year contract. Miles has played the innfield and outfield and has even made a relief appearance on the mound last season in a Cardinals blowout loss.
Later this morning, it was announced that the Cubs had traded Mark DeRosa to the Cleveland Indians for three monor league pitchers.
DeRosa was in the final year of his contract with the Cubs.
Randy Johnson and the Giants have agreed to a one year $8 million contract.
Randy Johnson will be the number two guy in San Francisco, behind "The Franchise" Tim Lincecum. "The Big Unit" joins Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Barry Zito in a frightening rotation.
Here Are Your NBA Highlights From Christmas Day! Who would win the fierce battle between the Suns and Spurs? Who would win the rematch of last year's NBA Finals? Click on the video below to find out!
Here Are Your Top Five Plays From Christmas Day!
And Your Dunk Of The Night! Kobe Bryant Finishes With Authority!
And Your Top Play! Roger Mason Hits The Game Winner!
Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope your Christmas Day is awesome! There Are two great NBA games today on ABC.
SUNS AT SPURS 2:30 PM EST Whenever the Suns and Spurs meet up, you know this game is going to be huge. Steve Nash against Tony Parker at the Point Guard Slot, that will be a battle, but not quite as big as the battle Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal will have in the paint. Expect the "Hack A-Shaq" strategy early and often.
CELTICS AT LAKERS 5:00 PM EST Whenever the Celtics and Lakers meet up, the entire NBA takes notice, especially whrn It's a rematch from last year's NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics play the Lakers for the first time since then, and Boston has been firing on all cylinders. The Celtics have won nineteen games in a row, and they can increase it to twenty straight wins if they beat the Lakers.
You can catch both of these fantastic games today on ABC.
Robbie Gould kicked a 38-yard field goal in overtime as the Bears beat the Packers, 20-17.
The Bears were dead throughout those first three quarters. They managed to tie the game at 17, and then block what would have been the game winning field goal.
Who else saw during the overtime coin toss when the coin hit Brian Urlacher in the helmet? That must have been a lucky bounce, as the Bears ended up winning the coin toss and eventually winning the game in overtime.
The Bears still need help to make the playoffs. They can win the NFC North if they beat the Texans and if the Vikings lose to the Giants.
According to the Yahoo Sports Playoff Geenerator, The winner of the NFC North will play either Dallas or Tampa Bay, depending on if Dallas wins or loses to the Eagles this Sunday.
The Titans routed the Steelers Sunday, 31-14. Tennessee earned a first-round playoff bye. The Titans also secured home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
Next Stop for Tennesee: A matchup with the Colts in Indianapolis that is essentially meaningless to the playoff picture.
The Baltimore Ravens weren't supposed to crash this party at Texas Stadium.
They did it anyway.
The Baltimore Ravens pulled off a stunning 33-24 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the last game ever played in Texas Stadium.
Matt Stover kicked four field goals to wipe out an early deficit, then Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain ripped off long, record breaking touchdown runs each time the Cowboys cut the defecit to just two points in the final minutes. The loss spelled doom for the Cowboys playoff hopes and head coach Wade Phillips' hope of a future with the team beyond this season.
The loss by the Cowboys clinched a playoff spot for the Carolina Panthers, who play the Giants tonight to determine who will get homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
The Cowboys are dead. There is no way they will beat a resurgent Eagles team in Philly next week. No chance, especially with a hobbled Tony Romo under center. Romo's reputation as a big game choker will only get bigger after these two losses.
Once the Cowboys are officially eliminated, Wade Phillips will be fired and replaced with Jason Garrett. The handwriting has been on the wall ever since Garrett was about to take the job as Ravens head coach last season.
John Harbaugh gets my vote as Coach of the year. Joe Flacco should be the rookie of the year. Flacco actually played better in this game than Tony Romo! Flacco made smart decisions like throwing the ball away instead of forcing it into coverage,like Romo did.
The Cowboys defense, which looked good early, choked at the two most important parts of the game, on those two long touchdown runs. It looked like, on both times, McClain and McGahee ran past the run blitzers! Inexcusable defense also cost Dallas this game.
The Dallas Cowboys can now say they have something in common with the New York Mets.
They both choked away their playoff hopes in their home stadium finales.
The former home of the Indianapolis Colts is now a pile of rubble. Crews imploded the RCA Dome just after 9:30 a.m. Saturday by setting off 800 charges to bring down the facility's upper floors in about 25 seconds.
Want to see the RCA Dome get deflated? This happened September 24th.
Crews turned off the large fans keeping the 500,000-pound Teflon-coated fabric roof in the air. The dome was demolished to make room for a convention center expansion.
Sammy Baugh was the last surviving member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's inaugural class of 1963.
After starring at Texas Christian University, Baugh played with the Redskins from 1937 to 1952, leading them to the NFL title in his rookie season and again in 1942.
Interestingly enough, Baugh did not get his nickname "Sligin' Sammy" from Football, but from the way he slung Baseballs from the Shortstop and Third Base Position.
Baugh was the best all-around player in an era when versatility was required. In 1943, he led the league in passing, punting and interceptions. In one game, he threw four touchdowns and also intercepted four passes. He threw six touchdowns passes in a game twice. His 51.4-yard punting average in 1940 remains the NFL record.
This I think will stand out most about Sammy Baugh: Four touchdowns on offense and then picking off four passes on defense in the same game! He also led the league in passing , and also led defensively in interceptions. Oh, for good measure, he also lead the league in punting! The NFL has changed so much that we will never see a player this versatile ever again.
The NFL has lost perhaps their greatest All Around Player.
Rest In Peace, Slingin' Sammy. You will be missed.
Here Are Your Top Ten Plays from Last Night, December 18th!
Congratulations to Chris Paul on breaking the record for consecutive games with a steal. I think we will see Chris Paul break many more records in the course of his NBA Career.
Paul helped lead the Hornets to a come from behind 90-83 victory over the Spurs.
Let's take another look at the Josh Smith dunk on Kendrick Perkins! That was your Dunk Of The Night!
The Celtics would prevail to win their 16th straight game, 88-85 over Atlanta.
The Chicago Cubs have not found a Swattin' Southpaw yet, but they did sign a Speedin' Southpaw.
The Cubs signed former Kansas City and Tampa Bay Outfielder Joey Gathright to a one year contract.
Gathright has speed, and he can use it to beat out infield singles and steal many bases. I think the Cubs will end up putting him in Center Field with Reed Johnson, allowing Felix Pie to fine tune his skills in the Minor Leagues.
The Cubs are still looking for a left handed outfielder with some pop, and they are looking at former Texas Ranger Milton Bradley.
On a second note...
I am glad the Chicago Cubs did not get Jake Peavy. It was obvious from the start that San Diego was asking too much to get him, and we were walking a tightrope as we were trying to get three or four teams to make a deal for us to land Peavy. Jake is a great pitcher, but I firmly believe that his numbers are inflated due to him playing inside the ultimate Pitcher's Park, PetCo Park. I do not think Jake would have done as well in Wrigley Field.
Hopefully our regular rotation gets the job done this season.
The bullpen may not be the Mets Achilles Heel anymore.
Just after the Mets signed their closer in Francisco Rodriguez, they traded for J.J Putz from the Seattle Mariners.
This was part of a three team, twelve player deal.
New York shipped reliever Aaron Heilman, outfielder Endy Chavez, left hander Jason Vargas and three minor leaguers to the Mariners for Putz, center fielder Jeremy Reed and reliever Sean Green.
Outfielder Franklin Gutierrez was sent from the Indians to Seattle. Cleveland got reliever Joe Smith from the Mets and 23-year-old second baseman Luis Valbuena from Seattle.
J.J Putz will pitch the eighth inning for the Mets, setting up for K-Rod in the ninth.
The New York Yankees signed the best pither in the Free Agent Market to a record breaking contract.
Sabathia and the Yankees agreed to a seven year, $161 Million dollar contract, the largest ever for a pitcher.
Sabathia makes the Yankees the owners of Baseball's Best Rotation, and they are reportedly not done yet, as the Yankees are also trying to sign Derek Lowe and A.J. Burnett.
When the Yankees play the Cleveland Indians on April 16th in the first regular season game in the new Yankee Stadium, C.C Sabathia, the 2007 AL Cy Young Award Winner, could be opposed by Cliff Lee, the 2008 AL Cy Young Award Winner.
Here Are Your NBA highlights from Last Night,December 9th! Whp would win the Texas sized battle between the Mavericks and Spurs? Click on the video below to find out!
Here Are Your Top Ten Plays!
The audio is twice as fast as the video itself!
And Your Dunk Of The Night! LeBron James Soars & Styles for the Fastbreak Jam!
Kerry Wood just left one "cursed" franchise to head to another.
The Cleveland Indians, who have the second longest title drought in Baseball history, appear to be closing in on a two year contract with closer Kerry Wood.
Although I was personally hoping to see Wood head back to his hometown area to play for the Rangers, Wood heading to the Indians is a good move. Cleveland does have Cliff Lee, the 2008 American League Cy Young Award Winner, and Grady Sizemore, Baseball's best Centerfielder. Also, if Matt La Porta comes up in 2009 and plays to his potential, the Cleveland Indians could be Baseball's Dark Horse for 2009.
That being said, I am going to miss Woody in Cubbie Blue.
The legendary Greg Maddux retired Monday after having one of the greatest careers in baseball history.
Maddux in the 90's joined the dominant Atlanta rotation of John Smoltz and Tom Glavine that helped lead the Atlanta Braves to win the 1995 World Series.
As a Cubs fan who watched Greg Maddux get his 300th win and his 3,000th Strikeout on WGN, let me say: Thanks for the memories, Greg.
"Mad Dog" showed that you didn't have to throw 95 MPH and strike out ten batters a game to be sucessful in the Major Leagues. You just have to be a smart pitcher, and Greg Maddux was without question, a very smart pitcher.
I Can't wait to see Greg Maddux give his Hall Of Fame acceptance speech in Cooperstown a few years from now. He deserves it.
Like a true Cowboy, Greg Maddux will now ride off into the sunset.
Here Are Your NBA highlights From Last Night, December 5th! Could The red hot Portland Trail Blazers beat the defending NBA Champions? Click on the video below to find out.
Here Are Your Top Ten Plays!
And Your Dunk Of The Night! Kevin Love Posterizes Vince Carter!
The Florida Gators continue to roll through the College Football Standings. Tim Tebow's Florida Gators scored 70 points on Saturday in what probably was Tebow's last game at "The Swamp."
Since Tim Tebow keeps getting better and better while the Detroit Lions keep getting worse, here's my predction:
The Detroit Lions will get the first pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. Detroit will use that choice to select Quarterback Tim Tebow.
The last Quarterback the Detroit Lions drafted in the first round was Joey Harrington out of Oregon, but hopefully Tebow becomes a better quarterback than Joey Harrington.
C.C Sabathia is being courted by the New York Yankees.
The Yankees are, according to reports, offering Sabathia the richest contract for a pitcher ever, six years and slightly higher than the record $137.5 million deal lured Johan Santana to the New York Mets before last season.
The New York Yankees found themselves in unfamiliar territory last season (Not in The Playoffs) and they are going to throw money at their deficencies, just like the Yankees have always done.
The other part of this is that while this is astronomical salry for any pitcher, C.C. loves the National League because he gets a chance to swing the bat. It would be funny if C.C. put a provision in his Yankees contract saying something like "The New York Yankees will not use a Designated Hitter on Days C.C. is pitching." That way C.C would still get to bat.
This won't happen, though.
The Yankees need to regroup after missing the playoffs. C.C. Sabathia is a great first step.
The Chicago Cubs have officicialy resigned Ryan Dempster.
Dempster and the Cubs agreed to a $52 million, four-year contract that includes a player option for 2012.
Dempster was 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA for the Cubs last season.
Ryan Dempster made a successful transition from closing to starting last season, the most difficult change a pitcher can make. I'm glad to see the Cubs kept their rotation in check, even if their bullpen is a questionmark now that Kerry Wood is gone.
St. Louis Cardinals First Baseman Albert Pujols won his second NL MVP award.
Pujols won the NL MVP award by a substantial margin over Philladelphia Phillies First Baseman Ryan Howard.
Voting was done before the Playoffs began.
Pujols hit .357 with 37 homeruns and 116 RBIs while playing with a sore right elbow that required surgery. Howard hit 48 homers with 146 RBIs for the Phillies.
Congrats to Albert on winning his second NL MVP award.
The Cubs traded for Closer Kevin Gregg, ending Kerry Wood's ten years of service to the Cubs.
The Chicago Cubs made a shocking announcement on Friday.
The rumors were true. Kerry Wood was not coming back.
The Cubs on Thursday traded for Closer Kevin Gregg from Florida, ending Wood's career in Cubbie Blue.
Closing duties will now apparently go to Carlos Marmol, who was in the running to close last year. Gregg may also be used in Save situations this year.
As a Cubs fan, it pains me to write this. Wood's been one of the best, classiest guys in all of Baseball, and I can't beieve he's not coming back.
It's going to be hard to watch Kerry with his new team, but I think Cubs fans will wish him the best with his new ballclub.
For the second time in his career, Carlos Zambrano has won the Silver Slugger Award.
Here were the other Silver Slugger award winners, in both leagues:
AMERICAN LEAGUE C Joe Mauer, MIN 1B Justin Morneau, MIN 2B Dustin Pedroia, BOS 3B Alex Rodriguez, NYY SS Derek Jeter, NYY OF Josh Hamilton, TEX OF Carlos Quentin, CWS OF Grady Sizemore, CLE DH Aubrey Huff, BAL
NATIONAL LEAGUE C Brian McCann, ATL 1B Albert Pujols, STL 2B Chase Utley, PHI 3B David Wright, NYM SS Hanley Ramirez, FLA OF Ryan Braun, MIL OF Matt Holliday, COL OF Ryan Ludwick, STL P Carlos Zambrano, CHC
Congratulations to all the Silver Slugger Award Winners.
Cliff Lee was one of the few bright spots for the Cleveland Indians this season.
Cliff Lee was recognized for it today as he won the American League Cy Young Award.
Lee went a major league-best 22-3 this season with a 2.54 ERA. He received 24 of 28 first-place votes and 132 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Toronto ace Roy Halladay was a distant runner-up with four first-place votes and 71 points. Record-setting closer Francisco Rodriguez of the Los Angeles Angels finished third with 32 points.
Congrats to Cliff Lee on winning the AL Cy Young award.
The current Cubs and Rays skippers were honored for their team's performance during the regular season.
Lou Piniella was honored as the National League Manager of the year.
Piniella managed the Chicago Cubs to the National League's best record, a 97 win season, in 2008. The Cubs were the National League's best team in the regular season, even if they did Nothing right in the postseason.
Joe Maddon was honored as the American League's Manager of the Year.
Joe Maddon helped reverse the culture of losing in Tampa Bay, as Maddon led Tampa to a 100 win season in the American League East, tough to do considering that is the same division that the Yankees and Red Sox both play in. Maddon also helped lead Tampa Bay to the 2008 World Series.
Congratulations to these managers on their acheivement.
2008 was one of the greatest rookie classes in recent memory.
Two rookies had the most memorable performances.
Chicago Cubs Catcher Geovanny Soto won the National League Rookie Of the Year Award. It wasn't just his great offensive numbers (he had the most homeruns by a rookie catcher since Mike Piazza), but how he commanded the Cubs pitching rotation. Soto caught Carlos Zambrano's No Hitter against the Houston Astros.
The Last Cub to win a Rookie Of The Year Award was Kerry Wood in 1998.
Tampa Bay Rays Third Baseman Evan Longoria was the catalyst in the Tampa Bay Rays and their Cinderella Season in 2008. Longoria won the American League Rookie Of The Year Award.
The MLB Gold Glove Award Winners were unveiled this week. If you missed it, here is a quick recap of the winners.
National League P, Greg Maddux, LAD C, Yadier Molina, STL 1B, Adrian Gonzalez, SD 2B, Brandon Phillips, CIN 3B, David Wright, NYM SS, Jimmy Rollins, PHI OF, Carlos Beltran, NYM OF, Nate McLouth, PIT OF, Shane Victorino, PHI
Greg Maddux won a record 18th Gold Glove, and I was not expecting Adrian Gonzalez to be on the list. However, Adrian was one of the few bright spots the Padres had this season. Ditto with Nate McLouth on the Pirates.
And In The American League: American League P, Mike Mussina, NYY C, Joe Mauer, MIN 1B, Carlos Pena, TB 2B, Dustin Pedroia, BOS 3B, Adrian Beltre, SEA SS, Michael Young, TEX OF, Torii Hunter, LAA OF, Grady Sizemore, CLE OF, Ichiro Suzuki, SEA
It was good to see a Ray get on this list. All of Baseball knew about Carlos Pena's offense, but his defense is why he is one of the best first basemen in the American League. I was expecting to see Jacoby Ellsbury's name on the list.
In case you missed it last night, here are the interviews that Barack Obama and John McCain did with Chris Berman that aired on "Monday Night Football."
Here is Chris Berman's interview with Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama.
Here is Chris Berman's interview with Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain.
As You Know, today is Election Day. One of these two men will become the next President of the United States.
Go out and cast your ballot! Protect your right to select who you want in America's government! Go out to the polls and VOTE!
