In news that is sure to please the commenter from a few weeks ago who called me a homer for ranking the Yankees ahead of the Phillies, we have a new number one in the rankings this week. Yes, I've removed myself from my undying love for all things Yankees, and have seen fit to place the Phillies atop the poll. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make for the good of all of you. I'm kind...

There are some changes to the Blogpoll this year, most notably the one in which MGoBlog's Brian Cook -- the founder of the poll -- will no longer be running it. The poll is completely in the hands of SBNation and Andy Hutchins now, who I'm sure will do a fine job wrangling all these ballots every week. Anyway, ballots are due in on Monday now instead of Wednesday, which shouldn...

When it was announced that the Cubs had fired GM Jim Hendry, people speculated that GM Brian Cashman could replace him. Cashman says he's not looking to leave the Yankees.

Quite a few changes this week because even though the top three teams remain the same, the Red Sox have fallen further out of the top two spots than they've been in two months. And while the rest of the top ten teams are basically the same, there was a whole lot of jockeying for position as teams slid up and down. The Brewers have not only distanced themselves from the rest of the...

That'll be $500! Just when I thought things couldn't get any crazier in the college football world, Yahoo and Charles Robinson had to go and drop a bomb on Miami on Tuesday. As I read the report on Yahoo last night, my emotions went from "holy ****" to "Holy ****" and then a lot of "HOLY ****!" I seriously felt like I was reading a script written by Oliver Stone. It was Any Given...

I'm incredibly busy over at CBS these days as we work on our season previews and the season creeps ever closer, which means there won't be many posts here in the coming days, but I'd be remiss if I didn't take a moment to congratulate Jim Thome. Thome hit two home runs last night to give him 600 in his career. Even better, they both helped the Twins beat Detroit and bring the White...

With Carlos Zambrano on the disqualified list following his latest tantrum Friday night in Atlanta, the Chicago Cubs decided it was a nice time to announce unpopular GM Jim Hendry will most likely be retained next year.

You'll have to forgive me for the lack of posting on Friday and what will likely be another slow day on Foul Balls today. I've just been completely swamped by all the mayhem taking place in college football the last few days with Texas A&M, the SEC, and OH MY GOD IT'S ARMAGEDDON. Every time I turn around there's a new report or a rumor about this school doing that and what not...

When the Bears released their first depth chart of camp at wide receiver, the man who led the team in receptions and yards last season, Johnny Knox, was third on the depth chart behind newcomer Roy Williams and Devin Hester. Which apparently isn't sitting all that well with Knox, because according to Brad Biggs in the Chicago Tribune, if things don't change Knox may ask the Bears...

Sorry, Philly, but 77-40 just ain't good enough No major changes in the rankings this week, as the Yankees are still atop the rankings in spite of the fact that they're not even in first place in their own division, and the Phillies have the best record in the league. Unfortunately for Boston and Philadelphia, a team's record is only one of the factors in my formula. As for how everyone...

If you missed it earlier today, the MLS has signed a new deal with NBC Sports to have MLS games broadcast on NBC and the NBC Sports Network -- what we now call Versus. Which means that the NHL and MLS now share a broadcast partner, as NBC has become home of the "little guy" in sports television.Read rest of post

By his own standard, this mascot likely owes MJD an apology There was a lot made of Maurice Jones-Drew's tweets about Jay Cutler last season after Cutler left the NFC Championship game with a knee injury. Essentially, Jones-Drew questioned Cutler's manhood for leaving the game with what turned out to be a rather significant knee injury even though Jones-Drew missed the last few games...

When Jereme Richmond announced that he was leaving Illinois after his freshman season to join the NBA Draft, just about everybody who cared knew it was the wrong decision for Richmond to make. Bruce Weber knew it, you knew it, I knew it, the rotting corpse of Chief Illiniwek knew it, everybody knew it. Everybody but Jereme Richmond.Read rest of post

After the Bears had to cancel Family Night on Friday because the turf at Soldier Field was being the turf at Soldier Field, they've been doing a lot of public relations cleanup. The thing that I found the most entertaining about the whole fiasco is that they say the reason the turf wasn't ready to practice on was because it hadn't been watered. Never mind the fact that it has been...

From a pure hockey viewpoint, I had no problem with the Blackhawks signing Dan Carcillo earlier this summer. The team lacked a certain level of asshole last season, and that's a role that Carcillo can easily fill, and since he's only getting paid $775,000 for a year, if he doesn't work out it's not like he hurts the team cap-wise. The problem I did have with the signing is purely...

I've spent a lot of time writing about Adam Dunn on this blog this season because he could quite possibly be having the worst season by any professional baseball player that I've ever seen. And just to be clear, there is no hyperbole in that sentence. I really mean that this could be the worst season by anyone at any point in the history of baseball. It's the kind of...

There's Curtis Granderson driving in one of the 200 runs the Yankees scored last night The White Sox have finally had an impact on the top of the rankings. You see, we have a new team atop the rankings again this week, and I can't help but think that the Sox allowing the Yankees to outscore them 27-5 in the first three games of their series played just a tiny factor in the...

The Blackhawks made a lot of moves this decision with the idea of creating cap space so the team would be able to find a bit more depth this season than it had last year when it barely snuck into the playoffs before taking Vancouver to seven games. Of course, there was another reason the Blackhawks wanted some financial flexibility, and that was so the team could sign Patrick Sharp...

It's amazing how all these college football programs decide it's time to reinstate suspended players the same week fall camps begin, isn't it? Coincidence or not, I don't care. I'm just happy to know that Michael Floyd will be lining up and breaking every single record at Notre Dame this season, and won't be missing a single game. At least, not due to suspension...

Last night's White Sox starting lineup was one of the funniest jokes I'd ever seen. With Paul Konerko out of the lineup thanks to his sore knee, Ozzie had to tinker with a lineup that is already terrible without his best hitter available. Which led to Adam Dunn batting fourth and Alex Rios batting fifth. Yes, the heart of the White Sox lineup involved two guys whose OBPs combined...

More of this could go a long way It's the first day of August, and the first four months of the baseball season are in the books. After 106 games the White Sox find themselves 52-54 and 4 games behind Detroit in the AL Central. A gap that is nothing close to insurmountable, even if it feels like it may as well be. It's been a frustrating season, and not one that's hard to figure...

The Bears effectively said goodbye to Olin Kreutz on Sunday when they signed center Chris Spencer after refusing to budge on what they said would be their best offer to Kreutz. A decision that now has Kreutz reportedly considering retirement. Or has him considering a play to get San Francisco to increase their offer to him since he no longer has the Bears around for them to bid against...

It's official, Olin Kreutz's days as a Chicago Bear are over. The Bears announced the signing of center Chris Spencer to a two-year deal on Sunday, which means that they're done negotiating with Kreutz and he'll leave Chicago second on the all-time list in starts as a Bear with 183. One start behind Walter Payton's mark of 184. It's a move that a lot of...

The news became official this morning that the Bears had signed wide receiver Roy Williams, who was just recently released by the Cowboys and spent a few years with the Lions before that. There still hasn't been any word on what the Bears will be paying Williams, but I highly doubt the deal is long-term or that he's getting a lot of money. This news did not please me too much, because...

It's been a bad week for Jay Cutler. First he loses his fiance, and now he loses his best friend as the trade trend continues to sweep Chicago. After hearing rumblings about it for the last few days, followed by an email from Drew Rosenhaus to all 32 teams on Wednesday night saying TIGHT END FOR SALE, the Bears have traded Greg Olsen to the Carolina Panthers.Read rest of post