YANKEES WIN!

...And nobody cares!

A Photo for Mortal Kombat Loving Cardinals Fans

I couldn't decide if this should go in the video games section or Sports page, but either way...  you found it, so what's it matter:

   

Just When You Thought a 3-Second Knockout Was Impressive...

... along comes this little gem out Japan:

(ready to play the counting game?)

Which Series Would You Want to Attend?

The Polo Grounds, Home of the New York Giants in 1900.

A simple question really:  if you had the opportunity to watch any World Series in major league baseball history, which Fall Classic would you attend?  Me, I'd take the 1905 match-up between the Giants and the Athletics, a series in which all five games were shutouts, with the young Giant, pitching ace Christy Mathewson, pitching three of them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1905_World_Series

The Brett Favre Drama Continues

courtesy of ESPN.com:

A source close to Brett Favre said the quarterback, pending a physical, will sign a contract with the Minnesota Vikings for between $10 million to $12 million, according to ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen.

Vikings coach Brad Childress confirmed in an e-mail to The Associated Press Tuesday morning that Favre was traveling from Mississippi to meet with the team.

Asked if the plan was to sign Favre on Tuesday, Childress replied: "In a perfect world."

Favre, a longtime star in Green Bay, came out of retirement last season to play for the Jets. He retired again, only to then entertain the idea of joining the Vikings. Last month, Childress said the quarterback would stay retired.

The pronouncement now appears to be premature.

According to Mortensen, the Vikings had sent their private plane to Hattiesburg, Miss., and left with Favre on it at 10 a.m. ET. The plane is expected to land in Minneapolis at about noon ET; Favre is expected to take a physical later Tuesday.

Two television stations reported that Favre was seen boarding a plane Tuesday morning that was headed to Minneapolis.

Sources told WDAM in Hattiesburg that Favre had said: "We may know something by dinner."

According to Minneapolis television station WCCO, a high-level source also said that Favre is expected to sign a deal with the Vikings on Tuesday.

On Monday, Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, responding to the day's scuttlebutt that Favre was predicted to play in Minnesota this season, said he was not paying attention to any of the talk.

"I pretty much have said [Favre] probably will follow me even when I retire. I'll probably have to hear about it. I'm just trying to take care of my business, and I can't worry about that stuff," Jackson said, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "If I let that stuff get to me, ain't no telling where I'd be right now. I just let it roll off my shoulder and just keep going. Just keep trying to get better."

Crush vs Cyborg: Watch it Live

The heavily anticipated fight for the Strikeforce Women's Championship between MMA sex symbol Gina Carano (a.k.a. "Crush" on American Gladiators) and Cris Cyborg-Santos (wife of former Pride FC fighter Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos) starts tonight at 10:30pm ET/ 9:30pm CT on Showtime (availabe in HD).   It's been the most hyped MMA fight this year and is likely to be the most viewed event featuring a women's title as the main event, because it is also the first.

However, if you don't have Showtime, mosey on over to FreePPV.tv to check out a live stream of it.  Donations are happily accepted there as well, just in case you begin to feel like a free-loading prick.  Enjoy the show.

Watch live video from Strikeforce - UFC on Justin.tv

The Continued Ridiculousness of the MLB

I'm just getting tired of this little here, little there approach to this whole steroid scandal that has been plaguing the Major Leagues the past several years. In case you all haven't heard, today David Ortiz (DH - Red Sox) and Manny Ramirex (OF - Dodgers) have had their names leaked to the public in regards to that 2003 doping list that has been slightly confidential over time... ever so often letting one name slip out here and there.

Per the New York Times:

Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, the sluggers who helped the Boston Red Sox end an 86-year World Series championship drought and capture another title three years later, were among the roughly 100 Major League Baseball players to test positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, according to lawyers with knowledge of the results.

Some of baseball’s most cherished story lines of the past decade have been tainted by performance-enhancing drugs, including the accomplishments of record-setting home run hitters and dominating pitchers. Now, players with Boston’s championship teams of 2004 and 2007 have been linked to doping.

Baseball first tested for steroids in 2003, and the results from that season were supposed to remain anonymous. But for reasons that have never been made clear, the results were not destroyed and the first batch of positives has come to be known among fans and people in baseball as “the list.” The information was later seized by federal agents investigating the distribution of performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes, and the test results remain the subject of litigation between the baseball players union and the government.

We have now seen a lot of super stars names getting link to "the list".  It seems to me they leak a name just as people are starting to put this issue behind them.   Once they do, a giant spotlight gets shone onto it via assumptions. 

You know what baseball needs to do?  Release the stupid list already, in it's entirety.   However, they won't do that.   You want to know why?   Because there's probably some other big names on that list that have more time left in the league than Ortiz and a better view by the public than Ramirez.   Imagine if some of our favorite players were on that list.

You know what else they need to do?  Another round of testing...  only this time we don't hide the results.   The continuous supsicion and records deserving of an '*' is not what I look for in a sport.   If I wasn't such a Cubs fan, I probably wouldn't waste my time.

It fascinates me that we get names of people who are now retired, or just got off a 50-game suspensions, or other such absurdities.   We don't get to see the names of the players still playing, perhaps the same ones we're cheering for on a day to day basis.  Some would argue that we need to put this all behind us and that by releasing these names will put a black cloud over the sport for years to come.   I say that by not doing it, they already have.

Michael Vick: Reinstated

C'mon... WHO's desperate for a QB?

Per the AP:

Vick can immediately participate in preseason practices, workouts and meetings and can play in the final two preseason games -- if he can find a team that will sign him. A number of teams have already said they would not.

"Needless to say, your margin for error is extremely limited," Goodell said in a letter to Vick. "I urge you to take full advantage of the resources available to support you and to dedicate yourself to rebuilding your life and your career. If you do this, the NFL will support you."

Goodell suspended Vick indefinitely in August 2007 after the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback admitted bankrolling the "Bad Newz Kennels" dogfighting operation. Goodell said then that Vick must show remorse and signs that he has changed before he would consider reinstating him.

Once the season begins, Vick may participate in all team activities except games, and Goodell said he would consider Vick for full reinstatement by Week 6 (Oct. 18-19).

Goodell called a news conference for late Monday afternoon.

"I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to commissioner Goodell for allowing me to be readmitted to the National Football League," Vick said through agent Joel Segal. "I fully understand that playing football in the NFL is a privilege, not a right, and I am truly thankful for the opportunity I have been given.

"As you can imagine, the last two years have given me time to re-evaluate my life, mature as an individual and fully understand the terrible mistakes I have made in the past and what type of life I must lead moving forward.

"Again, I want to thank the commissioner for the chance to return to the game I love and the opportunity to become an example of positive change."

Another ESPN Reporter's Nude Video Leaked

Funny take on on the Erin Andrews video courtesy of Stuart Scott:

Nice.

Central Division Keeps Tightening Up - Part 2

Amazing things to watch:

• Eclipses
• Kaleidoscopes
• the NL Central Division in baseball

We've said it before here at the BL Rag and we'll say it again. Despite their records not appearing as strong as the other, with its current leader sporting the lowest win percentage of any other division's first place team... the excitement level continues to outdo the rest. In no other division do you see 4 teams within 2 games of one another, and in no other do you see EVERY team within 7.5 games. It's simply unheard of at this point in the season.

With the Astros hitting a hot stread (because they haven't been playing the Cubs, who of course have OWNED them all year) and the Cubs picking up momentum... the Cardinals continue to check their rearview mirror to see which team threatens to pass them next. If the Astros can catch up, they'd be the 4th team to get the honor saying their in first place in the division. (Cincinatti only got as close as 1/2 game out)  Meanwhile, the Brewers continue a slow and steady fall in the standings, having sunk from first to 4th in just 3 weeks. 

As the Cubs take a break today and prep for the incoming Reds, only the Cardinals are active today as they head to Washington to face the Nationals. The Nationals are clearly a team that is struggling, replacing their manager mid-season and left to wear the badge as the worst team in baseball with a win percentage now below .300 despite a current 2-game win streak. If the Cardinals can domintate them, they'll set themselves up for a pretty good padding between them and those trailing. However if they can't and underestimate the Nationals, we could be seeing another changing of the guard.

(preferable with the Cubs, and not the Astros as the ones taking court)

TEAM	W	L	%	GB
St. Louis	51	46	.526	-
Chicago	48	45	.516	1.0
Houston	49	46	.516	1.0
Milwaukee	48	47	.505	2.0
Cincinnati	44	50	.468	5.5
Pittsburgh	42	52	.447	7.5