For those of you still contending in your fantasy baseball leagues, here are some batters you may want to pick up in a last ditch effort to win some cash in 2010.

Homeruns

Dan Johnson (1B TB) In only 22 at bats, Johnson has hit three homers, earned four runs and drove in seven. He seems to be getting every day at bats now for the Rays with 21 at bats in the last seven days. He should be a good source of power and earns fantasy value just being a part of the Tampa Bay line-up.

Jay Gibbons (OF LAD) With Scott Podsednik expected to be out for the remainder of the season, Gibbons has been used every day in the Dodgers outfield. He has hit two homers in 33 at bats over the past 14 days with seven RBI and a .303 batting average.

Brad Davis (C FLA) Last Monday, Davis knocked his first career grand slam against Chris Carpenter and looks to be getting every day at bats for the Marlins. In the past 14 days, Davis has hit two home runs in 33 at bats but his batting average suffers at only .166. At this point it is hard to say whether a lousy batting average will even affect your overall ranking but pay close attention because the last thing you want is to move up in home runs while falling down in average.

Jack Cust (LF OAK) Good old Jack Cust is batting .312 with two homers and six RBI in 32 at bats over the last two weeks. We all knew he was streaky, but with only a week left, I will ride a hot streak.

Stolen Bases

Brendan Ryan (SS STL) This is a perfect scenario because in Ryan we see a player fighting for a job in 2011. In the last two weeks, and 50 at bats, he has scored seven runs, six RBI, and has two stolen bases. His .240 average leaves something to be desired, but three out of four is not bad.

Jarrod Dyson (OF KC) Dyson only made his fourth career start on Tuesday, but he is turning heads going eight for 18 and batting .444 for the Royals. He has four doubles, five runs, and four stolen bases in those 18 at bats. He is a must grab for any fantasy owner in need of an Outfielder.

Lou Marson (C CLE) Another catcher with a dismal average who could be useful in other areas. Marson has earned two runs and four RBI over the last two weeks in 32 at bats. He even stole two bases. Things could be a lot worse at the Catcher position, trust me.

Other Batters to Look at

Melvin Mora (INF COL) With Ian Stewart out, the 38-year-old veteran has been making the most of his playing time. If Carlos Gonzalez and Tulowitski can hang in there, just being in the powerful Rockies line-up gives Mora fantasy value.

Wilson Betemit (3B KC) I picked this guy up on one of my leagues last week. In 14 days Betemit has brought amazing value earning ten runs while driving in ten on 20 hits in 50 at bats. He is batting .400 with five doubles and two home runs.

Ryan Raburn (OF DET) In 47 at bats, Raburn has driven in nine batters and earned eight runs. He is batting .340 over the last 14 days with seven doubles and two home runs in 47 at bats

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Top Five Stories From Yesterday

1. The defending champion Saints get a 37-yard game winning FG from Garrett Hartley to beat San Francisco by three as time expires, but lose star Reggie Bush to a broken leg on Monday Night Football.

2. The Yankees increase their lead over Tampa Bay in the AL East to 1.5 games on a night when New York honored its late owner George Steinbrenner.

3. Denver Broncos WR Kenny McKinley is found dead in his apartment of an apparent suicide, stunning the team which has tragically lost three players in the last four years.

4. The Phillies increase their lead in the NL East to four games after defeating Atlanta, and getting another masterful performance from Cole Hamels.

5. Jets CB Darrelle Revis may not play for one to two weeks as he still suffers from hamstring issues that caused him to leave New York’s Week 2 win over New England.

Top Five Games From Yesterday

1. Saints 25, 49ers 22: After San Francisco tied the game on a Frank Gore run with 1:19 to go, it left too much time for Drew Brees and he drove New Orleans to the SF 20 where Garrett Hartley hit the GW 37-yd FG to keep the Saints unbeaten.

2. Yankees 8, Rays 6: New York extended its lead to 1.5 games in the division, but had to hang on for the win as Tampa Bay got to within two and had the go-ahead run at the plate before the Yankees secured the win.

3. Phillies 3, Braves 1: Philadelphia got another eight strong innings from Cole Hamels, and manufactured three runs to expand their lead to four games in the NL East.

4. Twins 9, Indians 3: Minnesota broke open a close game with fours runs in the sixth inning, getting a little closer to the AL Central Title.

5. Angels 7, Rangers 4: Los Angeles got out to a 6-1 lead to best Texas, and postpone the Rangers’ march to the AL West crown.

Top Five Performances From Yesterday

1. Chris Volstad, Marlins SP: Zero runs on five hits with three K’s, and the CG shutout in FLA’s 4-0 win over STL.

2. Curtis Granderson, Yankees CF: 2-for-3 with two HRs, and five RBI in NYY’s 8-6 win over TB.

3. Drew Brees, Saints QB: 28-for-38 for 254 yards, and two TDs in New Orleans’s 25-22 Week 2 win over San Francisco.

4. Yuniesky Betancourt, Royals SS: 4-for-4 with a HR, and three RBI in KC’s 7-5 loss to DET.

5. Alex Avila, Tigers C: 3-for-4 with a HR, and three RBI in DET’s 7-5 win over KC.

Five Performances That Weren’t So Good From Yesterday

1. Jason Varitek, Red Sox C: 0-for-4 with three K’s in BOS’ 4-2 loss to BAL.

2. Danny Espinosa, Nationals SS: 0-for-5 with three K’s in WAS’ 8-6 loss to HOU.

3. Jeanmar Gomez, Indians SP: Eight runs on 10 hits in 5.2 IP in CLE’s 9-3 loss to MIN.

4. Derek Holland, Rangers SP: Four runs on six hits in 3.2 IP in TEX’s 7-4 loss to LAA.

5. Ramon Castro, White Sox C: 0-for-4 with three K’s in CHW’s 3-0 loss to OAK.

Top Five Events To Follow Today

1. MLB: Rays (89-60) at Yankees (91-59), 7:00 PM: New York tries to lengthen its lead in the AL East; (Shields (TB) vs. Hughes (NYY)).

2. MLB: Braves (86-65) at Phillies (90-61), 7:00 PM: Atlanta tries to climb back into the NL East race; (Minor (ATL) vs. Halladay (PHI)).

3. MLB: Giants (84-66) at Cubs (68-81), 8:00 PM: San Francisco looks to maintain its lead in the NL West; (Good matchup: Cain (SF) vs. Zambrano (CHC)).

4. MLB: Rockies (82-67) at Diamondbacks (59-91), 9:30 PM: Colorado tries to close the gap in the NL West and wild-card races; (De La Rosa (COL) vs. Saunders (ARI)).

5. MLB: Padres (83-66) at Dodgers (73-77), 10:00 PM: San Diego tries to get its lead in the NL West back; (Good matchup; Richard (SD) vs. Billingsley (LAD)).

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All indications are that Omar Minaya will not be running the show next year. So, under hopes that he won’t be, the obvious question then becomes, who should replace him?

Here is the run-down of a potential candidate, Jon Daniels.


Who is he?

Jon Daniels became the youngest GM in baseball history in 2005, when at age 28 he became GM of the Texas Rangers. A graduate of Cornell University, Daniels quickly worked his way up through the Rangers organization. He was hired by then GM, Jon Hart as assistant director of baseball operations. He was then promoted to assistant GM in 2004, and eventually became GM in 2005 upon Hart’s resignation.

What’s His Track Record? Good/Bad Decisions?

In his time in Texas, Daniels has slowly but surely transformed the Rangers from the laughing stock they were to the division champion they will soon become. There were some questionable moves made along the way though.

First, Daniels traded away Alfonso Soriano for Brad Wilkerson. Soriano went on to have a 40-40 season the year after, but this move provided financial flexibility. I also think that Soriano has long been an overrated, pain in the you know what. He’s always been an awful fielder and a free swinger to his own detriment. He’s really worth fractions of what he makes.

Daniels’ most questionable move was trading away Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez to San Diego for Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka. Eaton was injury prone to say the least, and we all know about how good Adrian Gonzalez has turned out to be.

However, all the while, Daniels was improving the farm system and freeing up financial flexibility…

To read the rest of this article, please visit METS GAZETTE.

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Fourth devastating outcome in a row for the New York Yankees, third walk-off loss, and no longer do they hold the best record in baseball.

That honor now belongs to the Tampa Bay Rays, who take a half-game lead in the AL East standings.

The Yankees just can’t seem to catch a break, as things just keep getting worse.

Monday’s pitching match-up of CC Sabathia vs. David Price lived-up to all the hype. Both leading Cy Young Award candidates, who equally proved why on the mound.

Both starters were excellent at keeping the game scoreless through eight innings. Price and Sabathia put their respective teams in positions to win, and the bullpens continued where the aces left off.

That is until the Yankees’ fate was again placed on the wrong arm of Sergio Mitre, who gave up the walk-off home-run. This leads me to wonder what skipper Joe Girardi was thinking using Mitre in the bottom of the 11^th inning?

Girardi can’t seem to comprehend that Mitre is not good. He never really has been his whole career, except in 2007 when Mitre was a Florida Marlin, and Girardi was the Marlins manager.

Even back than, Mitre only pitched 150 innings total and struck out 80. That was over three years ago, and since arriving in New York, Mitre hasn’t been helpful, and has been the opposite of productive. That is a fact.

The minute I saw it was Mitre coming in the 0-0 game, my first thought was, “where is Joba Chamberlain or Dave Robertson?”

“Not available,” according to Girardi, and many will wonder why not?

Neither Robertson, nor Chamberlain pitched on Sunday afternoon so why couldn’t they throw in for a couple outs?

At such a critical time of the season, with first place in the AL East on the line, I thought Girardi would do whatever was needed to get the win. Especially following the blunder at third base by Brett Gardner, who tried to steal third with two outs. What was Gardner thinking?

He wasn’t because that was just dumb.

The Yankees could have used a positive night after being swept in Texas over the weekend.

Instead, the Yankees are getting more frustrated. It is all over the players’ faces, and it is heartbreaking to watch as a fan.

Walk-off wins are inevitably tough for the losing side, so the Yankees can’t be happy at all right now.

As a Yankees fan, it sucks to watch four losses in a row.

So many questions start mounting up as to whether the Yankees can turn it around or has age finally come before beauty?

Let’s hope this is just a slump, but clearly something is not working and the Yankees need to fix it ASAP.

Trying to stay positive but it is getting more difficult with each walk-off loss.

Hopefully, Yankees rookie Ivan Nova can continue throwing well on the mound, and that the bats back him up for a needed win on Tuesday night at the Trop.

PLEASE VISIT LADY LOVES PINSTRIPES….

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Nine years ago, the entire world changed as 19 terrorists boarded four commercial jets and committed one of the works acts of violence in the world’s history.

On tragic day, those terrorists flew two planes into the Twin Tower in New York City, another plane into the Pentagon and the final plane in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania that was believed to be targeted at hitting the Capitol Building in Washington DC.

As a result of the attacks, 2,977 innocent lives were lost on this day, and the entire world went into mourning.

Americans became more united than ever by going to massive candle light vigils, massive memorials were held and ordinary Americans contributed anyway they could to help out at the sights where the terrorist attacks took place.

The attacks brought Americans together as America became a more unified nation with these acts of kindness as the word’s “We Will Never Forget” as a common theme.

With everyone being impacted from the attacks, the personal that helped to rescue the people during the attacks became everyone’s heroes.

And as a result, professional athletes became all but forgotten due to the terrorist attacks and tried to contribute any way that they could.

From the New York Mets making Shea Stadium into a rescue area to hold supplies that would be transported to Ground Zero to members of the New York Yankees visiting New York City firehouses to assist anyway that they could, professional athletes did what was right in order to help raise morale’s after the terrorist attacks.

Five days after the terrorist attacks, baseball returned as America’s Pastime became a vital part of the nation trying to re-adapt to normal life.

Ten days after September 11 (Friday, September 21), the New York Mets became the first sports team to play in New York since the terrorist attacks as they faced the Atlanta Braves at Shea Stadium.

Before the game, both teams decided to dedicate their entire game salaries to the families that lost their lives in this game and there was an overwhelming patriotic attitude for that game.

In what was the biggest baseball game of these players lives, the Mets were able to win 3-2 after catcher Mike Piazza hit a moonshot off of New York resident Steve Karsay that hit the camera tower in center field in the eighth inning to give the Mets the lead.

And in the World Series that year, the Mets nearby neighbor, the Yankees, faced the Arizona Diamondbacks in one of the greatest World Series of all-time.

Even though the Yankees failed to win, they provided dramatics that were greater than a Hollywood thriller, as Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius hit two out home runs in the ninth inning off of Arizona reliever Byung-Hyun Kim to tie and eventually win both games for the Yankees.

Even though the Yankees did not win, the World Series helped to end a great postseason and gave many Americans hope as we moved forward as a nation.

Also, the NFL helped to help America heal during the winter, as after canceling Week Two due to 9-11, they were able to help Americans feel united as NFL games helped to unite the largest groups of people after 9-11 for a non-memorial service.

And ironically enough, the New England Patriots were able to prove themselves to be a true American story that year, as they overcame all the odds with a rookie quarterback in Tom Brady to win their first Super Bowl over the heavily favored St. Louis Rams.

The Patriots were also able to win the Super Bowl with a lack of big name players and were able to get the winning points on a late drive with a game-winning field goal of 48 yards as time expired to give the Patriots the title.

But now, nine years later, these moments of sporting greatness will always be linked to the aftermath of September 11 and how they helped to reestablish normal life to American lives.

However, an event such as September 11, 2001 should stand as a reminder to us that sport’s are not that important, but it is life, friends and family that are the most important things that should be the most important things in our lives.

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When the Minnesota Twins got Matt Capps in a trade with the Nationals, Twins fans cheered.

This ushered in the era of another fantastic arm in the bullpen, a fill-in or replacement for Joe Nathan if he can’t return to form, and an upgrade from Jon Rauch.

It was a sign from the front office that they are actively trying to win a World Series. All these and more were things you could hear around Minnesota as fans starting dreaming of a deep playoff run.

Upon hearing that the Twins traded for Matt Capps, I cringed.

I have seen him pitch, and I don’t argue that he is a good pitcher or an upgrade from Rauch or any other option the Twins had.

Some points made about him I cannot argue; however, there are many that I can. One point is that he is more lucky then dominant.

Consider this for a hypothetical situation: a pitcher that throws nothing but a 4-seam fastball and a 2-seam fastball.

Said pitcher does succeed at getting batters out in different ways.

His fastball ranges from 93 to 95 miles per hour. Sounds pretty good right?

Now imagine this pitcher doesn’t throw any other pitches, and he is your closer.

Seems a bit scary right? This is exactly what concerns me about Matt Capps.

According to fangraphs.com, Matt Capps throws a fastball 74.6 percent of pitches, his slider 20.6 percent of pitches, and a change-up 4.8 percent of pitches.

This has been a recurring trend since he entered the league in 2005. 

It is not just how often he throws his fastball that makes me cringe either, it is how often he gets hit and gives up runs.

In 46.0 innings with the Washington Nationals, Matt Capps gave up 51 hits and 20 runs. So far with the Twins, in 19 innings Capps has allowed 21 hits and 7 runs.

Those numbers for a closer scare me.

While watching last night’s game, I got nervous because Matt Capps came in to close it down and gave up two runs to put the Kansas City Royals within one run of tying the game.

The other thing I noticed is that the American League hitters are catching on to the propensity at which he throw fastballs.

This is not good, that is why I am predicting that if he doesn’t learn how to use his other pitches and mix it up a little, not only will he not be successful in the postseason, but he will also see a decline in his saves total and era for as long as he stays in the American League.

If he continues this trend, I think he will find himself out of a closing job in real hurry.

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When you do stand-up comedy you’re supposed to start with your second best stuff and finish with your finest stuff.

That eliminates anything to do with my boobs.

My husband says that eliminates any chance I have of doing stand-up.

Thanks, honey.

So the challenge is how to start this blog with something almost as funny as how I’ll end it based on a premise that’s pertinent to baseball.

That narrows it down to my nose. The problem is it’s hard to show you via Bleacher Report that my honker takes the shape of a Phillies “P” when I’m cleaning it out with a Kleenex.

Like my husband says, “I’ll make sure they carve Almost funny on your tombstone.”

Let’s face it, most bloggers could give this up at any time. So what is it that drives us to attempt to capture the attention of those who peruse Bleacher Report?

You could ask one of the Bob’s: Warja or Cunningham—they’re the heavy hitters. I’m about a buck soaking wet. I couldn’t keep up with them with a subscription to Elias Sports Bureau and a five pound thesaurus.

Check out Matt Goldberg. He’s posted for a only few weeks yet he’s collected medals faster than Michael Phelps and earned a slot in the prestigious ranks of Featured Columnists like Vincent Heck, Asher Chancey, and Jamie Ambler…

… not to mention Gary Suess. How can I be envious of a guy named after the greatest poet of all time? I feel like I should give him a hug. Not on a rug or near a bug—just hug him like I hold a mug.

There are even a few babes running up the ranks. Like Judy Davidson. She’s been dishing out Phillies’ fodder for over a year and attracts triple digit reads with every post.

And who’s this new Baseball Bunny? I’ll bet she’s pretty. Rats! I’ll have to increase the blur on my Avatar.

Now for those of you unfamiliar with Bleacher Report (code word B/R) I should tell you why fanatics like those listed above and I joined a site that creates obsessive-compulsive insane maniacs.

It’s the quest for an elusive intangible called the “read.”

And once you post a blog, there are features you subscribe to that control the way you’re informed of your “read” dominance via email:

First, they let you know your article has been published. Since you’re the one who wrote it that’s a rather dubious honor, but none-the-less it gives my heart a twitter just to know they’ve acknowledged me.

Hey, I’m married—I’m desperate for attention.

Then they’ll tell you when your article has been edited. This means someone other than you or the loved ones you’ve coerced via Facebook have clicked on your lame link even if they didn’t read it. Your vitals freeze as you wait for editor comments to rise from the page like a Phoenix.

Maybe I got a compliment!

B/R will also tell you when someone has commented on your article—even if you’re the one who did. Sometimes I comment on my own blog just to fill my inbox with stuff other than the spam I subscribe to that makes me look like I have friends.

And they’ll send you a notice when someone has contacted you via internal B/R email. This is super secret stuff. It makes you feel like a spy; like they’re sharing classified material with you.

I’ve only been contacted internally by mistake.

Finally the ultimate email: You’ve received an award! Woo hoo! If only I had a chest to pin it on! I hope it doesn’t clash with my shoes! You’ll admire how cool it looks to have a sparkling medal by your name and imagine smiling for a camera somewhere where they actually give a crap.

After you collect your first few “reads,” you’ll notice how addictive it is to watch your “read” count jump. This is when you Google a 12-step program for blog abuse.

Your eyes bulge when you discover your article posted on the main Phillies page and then you check constantly to see if you made the page for the whole MLB. You’ll deprive yourself of food and water, sustaining life on “reads,” and start telling your child to sit and your dog to get ready for school.

This is your brain; this is your brain on B/R.

You’ll create a little icon at the top of your browser so instantly you’re viewing your profile to cherish how fast your “reads” have increased. And you’ll dream that someday your count will reach infinity and beyond!

But when someone’s watching you’ll try to act cool. Instead of clicking on the B/R icon that flashes you every moment like a free porn site, you’ll log casually into email as if there are so many fascinating people contacting you that checking every half hour is essential to avoid missing that dinner invitation with, oh, let’s say Mitch Williams.

Then there’s the possibility that someone thinks enough of your stuff to broadcast it. Anybody at anytime could re-post your blog and you wouldn’t know. The first time you witness your article’s read count skyrocketing, you’ll get suspicious—somehow, some way, your article is appearing on another website. But where?! Ahhh!! Someone has re-posted my blog and I don’t know who!!

Your mind races with a way too high opinion of yourself: I’ll bet my post is on ESPN or MLB.com or even on the Phillies home page!! I’ll bet the powers-that-be have reserved a spot for me right next to Todd Zolecki!

At this very moment I’ll bet I’m being read by Charlie Manuel!!

But your hopes are thrashed when you read an email notification from B/R: they’re in a partnership to highlight some articles on Philly.com so if you check right now, you could see your article posted for the next 20 minutes.

I feel like a Sham Wow.

But hey, that’s good, right? Philly.com publishes the Inquirer and the Daily News. Wow, my writing was published for the whole City of Brotherly Love to see. I’ll bet someone even said, “She sucks.”

I love this place.

At one point I was so obsessed with my pursuit of “reads,” I started wishing B/R would email me every single time I got one. Then that wasn’t enough. I wished they’d come tell me—send a messenger to wherever I was to say, “Yo, you got another!”

Of course the messenger was always a handsome young man with blue eyes, a dashing wink, and an enthusiastic thumbs-up who’d go home with me if he could but respects that I’m married.

(He’s secretly into MILFs.)

Then I wished B/R could read people’s minds. Instead of waiting for one of the rare moments I receive an actual posted comment, it could bug each subscriber’s computer with telepathic equipment to relay not only what they typed but what was said and more importantly, what they thought.

And they’d deliver the message via instantaneous brainwaves: He joined Bleacher Report just to tell you you’re cool.

I knew it!

My husband says he now knows why people are medicated.

That doesn’t deter me from petitioning the White House to get Cliff Lee back. He could stay with me. I have a room with only one large keyhole and I can promise it won’t hurt a bit.

Maybe I’ve said too much. That’s what happens when you get older. I’ll admit age hasn’t been kind—over the years, only my nose has gotten pointier.

Well, I’d love to write more, but I have to figure out why my laundry isn’t drying. Does anyone have an energy saver dryer? You know how they work? They’re like me when I’m tired—they go through the motions but never truly get hot.

For once my husband and I agree on something.

See you at the ballpark.

Copyright 2010 Flattish Poe All rights reserved.

Catch life one-liner at a time on Twitter.

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Top 5 Stories From Yesterday

1. The Phillies retake the lead in the NL East for the first time since May 30, after defeating the Marlins 8-7, while the Braves lose their second straight to Pittsburgh 5-0.

2. San Diego wins its second game and maintains its one-game lead in the NL West after beating the Dodgers 2-1, while the Giants keep pace with a 6-3 win in Arizona.

3. Trevor Hoffman becomes the first pitcher in MLB history to record 600 saves in a career, finishing off Milwaukee’s 4-2 win over St. Louis.

4. There are reports that the Heisman Trophy Trust will vacate the 2005 award, and strip Reggie Bush of the title, but there has been no official decision made yet.

5. Boise State remains at No. 3 in the new AP poll, but they do pick up seven more first-place votes than the previous week.

Top 5 Games From Yesterday

1. Phillies 8, Marlins 7: A Placido Polanco RBI single in the eighth inning propelled Philadelphia to the win, and back into first place in the NL East.

2. Rockies 4, Reds 3: Miguel Olivo had the game-winning double in the bottom of the sixth as Colorado hung on for the win to keep pace in the NL West.

3. Padres 2, Dodgers 1: San Diego got its runs early, and a great performance from Mat Latos to hold onto its slim lead in the NL West.

4. Blue Jays 8, Rangers 5: Toronto jumped out to a big lead, but had to hang on after Texas scored two in the ninth, and had the tying run at the plate before securing the win.

5. Mariners 7, Athletics 5: Seattle was cruising before Oakland scored three in the ninth, and had the bases loaded before David Aardsma came in to seal the win for the Mariners.

Top Five Performances From Yesterday

1. Vernon Wells, Blue Jays CF: 3-for-3 with two HRs and two RBI in TOR’s 8-5 win over TEX.

2. Mat Latos, Padres SP: one run on four hits with 10 K’s over seven IP, and the victory in SD’s 2-1 win over LAD.

3. Raul Ibanez, Phillies LF: 3-for-4 with a HR and three RBI in PHI’s 8-7 win over FLA.

4. Michael Bourn, Astros CF: 3-for-4 with three RBI in HOU’s 7-3 win over CHC.

5. Carl Crawford, Rays LF: 4-for-4 with two RBI in TB’s 14-5 win over BOS.

Five Performances That Weren’t So Good From Yesterday

1. Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red Sox SP: eight runs on eight hits over 4.2 IP in BOS’ 14-5 loss to TB.

2. Brian Bannister, Royals SP: seven runs on eight hits in 2.2 IP in KC’s 10-3 loss to MIN.

3. Carlos Silva, Cubs SP: six runs on nine hits in 5 IP in CHC’s 7-3 loss to HOU.

4. Andre Ethier, Dodgers RF: 0-for-4 with three K’s in LAD’s 2-1 loss to SD.

5. Francisco Rodriguez, Angels RP: four runs on hits hits, facing four batters in LAA’s 6-1 loss to CLE.

Top Five Events To Follow Today

1. MLB: Marlins (70-68) at Phillies (80-60), 7:00 PM: Philadelphia tries to hold onto its small half-game lead in the NL East; (Miller (FLA) vs. Hamels (PHI))

2. MLB: Rangers (75-63) at Blue Jays (72-66), 7:00 PM: Struggling Texas tries to right the ship as its tough road trip continues; (Holland (TEX) vs. Rzepczynski (TOR))

3. MLB: Rays (84-54) at Red Sox (77-62), 7:00 PM, ESPN: Tampa Bay tries to gain on the Yankees in the AL East; (Garza (TB) vs. Wakefield (BOS))

4. MLB: Reds (79-59) at Rockies (74-64), 8:30 PM: Colorado looks for its sixth straight win against the NL Central leaders; (Arroyo (CIN) vs. Cook (COL))

5. MLB: Dodgers (69-70) at Padres (78-59), 10:00 PM, ESPN: San Diego now looks for its third win in a row against the fading Dodgers; (Billingsley (LAD) vs. Luebke (SD))

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Top 5 Stories From Yesterday

1. Pittsburgh Steelers suspended QB Ben Roethlisberger has his suspension reduced to four games by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

2. The Phillies get to within one game of Atlanta in the NL East after a 1-0 home win over Milwaukee while the Marlins beat Atlanta 6-1.

3. San Diego loses its eighth in a row, falling to Colorado, but San Francisco cannot take advantage, losing on the road to the Dodgers.

4. The Twins beat the Rangers as the two division leaders start a weekend series in the Midwest.

5. Mississippi QB Jeremiah Masoli wins his appeal to play football in 2010 and is expected to play in the Rebels season opener.

Top 5 Games From Yesterday

1. Phillies 1, Brewers 0—Cole Hamels pitches seven strong innings, and Philadelphia gets just enough on a Carlos Ruiz RBI groundout for the win.

2. Twins 4, Rangers 3—Minnesota gets a game winning RBI single from Denard Span in the 7th inning to win the match-up of division leaders.

3. Rockies 4, Padres 3—Colorado scores four runs early on and hangs on as San Diego comes up short for their eighth loss in a row.

4. Mariners 1, Indians 0—Luke French carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning as Seattle made a first inning run stand up.

5. Cardinals 3, Reds 2—Jaime Garcia gives St. Louis another quality start as the Cardinals stop a five game losing streak.

Top 5 Performances From Yesterday

1. Nick Foles, Arizona QB—32 of 37 for 360 yards and two TDs in Arizona’s 41-2 blowout win over Toledo.

2. Chad Billingsley, Dodgers SP—no runs on two hits with seven K’s over eight innings and the victory in LAD’s 4-2 win over SF.

3. Luke French, Mariners SP—no runs on one hit with four K’s over seven innings and the victory in SEA’s 1-0 win over CLE.

4. Cole Hamels, Phillies SP—no runs on three hits with seven K’s over seven innings and the victory in PHI’s 1-0 win over MIL.

5. David Wright, Mets 3B—3 for 5 with a HR and three RBIs in NYM’s 7-6 loss to CHC.

5 Performances That Weren’t So Good From Yesterday

1. Brandon Morrow, Blue Jays SP—five runs on six hits in three innings in TOR’s 7-3 loss to NYY.

2. Livan Hernandez, Nationals SP—eight runs on eight hits in four and a third in Washington’s 8-5 loss to PIT.

3. Kenshin Kawakami, Braves SP—five runs on five hits in three innings in ATL’s 6-1 loss to FLA.

4. Rick Ankiel, Braves CF—0 for 4 with four K’s in ATL’s 6-1 loss to FLA.

5. R.A. Dickey, Mets SP—seven runs on eight hits in six innings in NYM’s 7-6 loss to CHC.

Top 5 Events To Follow Today

1. NCAA FB: Connecticut (0-0) at Michigan (0-0), 3:30 PM, ABC—An up and coming program takes on a program looking to have a positive start to Rich Rodriguez’s third season.

2. MLB: Rangers (75-59) at Twins (78-57), 4:00 PM, FOX—(Lewis (TEX) vs. Pavano (MIN))

3. NCAA FB: #24 Oregon State (0-0) vs. Texas Christian (0-0), 7:45 pm, ESPN—TCU looks to start another BCS run taking the Beavers and the Rodgers brothers

4. NCAA FB: #21 Louisiana State (0-0) vs. #18 North Carolina (0-0), 8:00 PM, ABC—a depleted Tar Heel team takes on a Tiger team looking to get off to a good start

5. MLB: Giants (74-61) at Dodgers (69-66), 10:00 PM—(Good match-up, Cain (SF) vs. Lilly (LAD))

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

This is one of the most exciting times of the year in sports.  U.S. Open tennis and college football begin this week, and the NFL begins next weekend.  

What are the biggest sporting events in the NFL every year? It can depend on your perspective and rooting interest.  These 10 are undeniably a major part of the American Sporting calendar every year.

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