Battle of the Sox



Papi's stick, hitting just .209 since the All Star break woke up with a bang last night, 2 homers, 6 RBIs in the Sox on Sox series which might be the ALCS preview which may then of course be the Sox and Sox on Fox series, or some bit of similar rubbish.

The RED sox won the first game against the WHITE sox ace, Mark Buehrle, by a 9-8 margin. It does not bode well when your ace, Buehrle, has allowed the Red Sox 22 hits and nine earned runs over 13-plus innings this year. Still, it was the WHITE sox game to lose. They squandered a four-run lead.

But we'll go easy on the White Sox for a day. After all, they just finished taking two of three from the Yankees in the Bronx and frankly, having to meet the Red Sox in Fenway the next night is a bit much for any team to bite off.

Jon Garland, RHP (16-5, 3.29) faces Tim Wakefield, RHP (11-9, 4.13) on Saturday. Wakefield is out to extend his personal winning streak to four games. He has won his last three starts, going at least seven innings in each contest. His last loss was to the White Sox on July 22, when he allowed seven runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.

On Sunday, El Duque, RHP (8-5, 4.67) goes against Matt Clement, RHP (11-3, 4.53). The Red Sox have won Clement's last four starts.

And just to make matters even more interesting, after they finally get home from Boston the White Sox will then face their biggest rivals, the Twins, at home. Brutal schedule makers, brutal.

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The Twins may be a little too far back from the pack (7 games) to consider a serious challenge for the AL Wildcard but that doesn't mean they won't have an effect on the outcome. Last night, ace Johan Santana hosed down and cooled off the A's:



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For the moment anyway, it appears the Red and White Sox have sealed post season spots with the White Sox likely holding home court all postseason so long as they stay alive. The A's and Angels are still battling it out over the AL West and the loser, if the postseason started today, would be the wild card as well. Something still telling me the Yankees will not miss out on the final spot though, even if they are still tied with the Miraculous Indians of Cleveland.

If my feet were held over hot coals and I had to predict, I'd say the FIRST ROUND OF THE AL PLAYOFFS WILL START LIKE THIS:

Yankees at Chicago White Sox
Angels at Boston Red Sox

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Baseball is still reverberating with the aftershocks of The Crash Heard 'Round The World:



Cameron, 32, who sustained fractures of both cheekbones in Thursday's collision with Beltran, could be lost for the season. He was being transferred from San Diego's Mercy Hospital to Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, Calif., on Friday and was scheduled to undergo surgery Friday night. He also has been diagnosed with a broken nose and a slight concussion, though a CT scan did not show extensive damage to his brain.

Beltran, 28, was released from Scripps Clinic on Friday after being held overnight. A CT scan indicated that he had suffered a minimally displaced facial fracture that the Mets said "most likely will not require surgery."

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That triple loss (the two outfielders and the game) pretty much sealed it for the Mets season.

The National League Playoffs will probably look thusly:

San Diego @ St Louis Cardinals
Houston @ Atlanta Braves

With any luck, there'll be a rematch of last season's NLCS and the Astros with Petitte and Clemens accomplishing what they'd hoped but what nobody expected (a World Series appearance together for the Astros).

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Shhhhh

Donovan McNabb told Terrell Owens to "keep my name out of your mouth."

It's been quite a training camp saga with Owends whingeing and demanding a new contract, the Eagles giving him a week off in the futile hope he would shut up or at least tone down.

Owens again blasted McNabb on two separate interviews with ESPN on Thursday, calling the quarterback a "hypocrite" and saying the two of them could not be successful together. Owens also said he had no desire to speak with McNabb.

Philly is in for a long season at this rate. The superstar receiver and the team leader hating each other before the opening kickoff. Owens, of course, is untradeable, unbelievable as it is an even BIGGER headache than Randy Moss.

Who has the Bigger Mouth:



Owens or



Randy Moss

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The NFL is back in more than Philly.

Another offseason has apparently changed nothing for the two-time defending World Champ Patriots. Rookie quarterback Matt Cassel led four scoring drives as the defending champion New England Patriots beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-13 Friday night in the preseason opener for both teams.

Cassel never started a college game while backing up Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at Southern California and now he is battling 42-year-old Doug Flutie for New England's No. 3 quarterback spot behind Tom Brady and Rohan Davey.

The Jets defeated the Lions 10-3 without Chad Pennington.

There were other preseason matches but frankly, it's hard to work up some saliva for it. It's still too early for the games to mean anything in and frankly, the preseason football is getting squeezed out by Sports Amnesia's new Cricket coverage.

Well, not cricket in general, it's The Ashes.



And England are beating Australia who are on 210 for seven whilst England still hold a massive upper hand and prepare to enforce a follow-on. If you're like Sports Amnesia and still learning the nuances of cricket and wonder what the fuck a follow-on is, well, look no further. The follow-on minimum lead requirement in first-class cricket is:

5 or more days - 200 runs
3 or 4 days - 150 runs
2 days - 100 runs
1 day - 75 runs

So if England capture the final three Australian wickets for less than 35 runs, well, kiddies, we've got a follow-on. Not bloody likely though.

The Basics of Cricket for those of us who need all the help we can get.

And just for kicks, a Michaelangelo-like design on the proper release for spinners:



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And going back to the preseason football, how much time is left over for it when the FA Premiership kicks off today.

A big kickoff.

Not that Newcastle have a prayer tomorrow against Arsenal.

Chelsea are the reigning favourites and so long as it isn't Man U or Arsenal, I'll be happy. My darkhorse candidate for capturing a Top Four spot are the Spurs. Dutch manager, Dutch midfielder, top English striker, top English keeper. Shouldn't go wrong.

They open against Portsmouth today. Shouldn't be a difficult proposition.

Sports Amnesia Predictions:

1. Chelsea
2. Arsenal
3. Manchester United
4. Tottenham

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Letterman

CBS funnyman David Letterman watched that plummeting fan land on the backstop screen at Yankee Stadium and offered his Top Ten Things Going Through This Guy's Mind At This Moment. They included:

-- “Thought the third base coach was giving me the 'jump' sign.”

-- “Will I get to watch the end of the game in my jail cell?”

-- “Figured I'd beat the traffic.”

-- “If I had a girlfriend, she'd be impressed.”

-- “I'm sure Steinbrenner won't mind.”

-- “If Marv Albert uses this, I hope he adds a comical ‘bong!’”

-- “Giambi said that stuff he gave me would make me fly.”

-- “I wonder if the newspaper will refer to me as a ‘moron’ or an ‘idiot’?”

-- “If a drunken stooge can't disgrace himself at sporting events, then the terrorists have won.”