Trade Deadline Sports Chowdah Update- So Long Jon, Lester, Lackey Dealt at Trade Deadline; The Price is Right

RED SOX- Never mind remaining members of the 2004 or 2007 World Series team on the Boston Roster- after the July 31st trade deadline, the 2014 iteration of the Boston Red Sox is now quite unrecognizable from last season's World Series champions.

After getting out to a 4-0 start immediately after the All Star break- including a sweep of the resurgent Kansas City Royals- the Red Sox fleetingly looked like contenders in the AL East. However, after a convincing 14-1 win against the Toronto Blue Jays last week, the Red Sox lost eight of their last nine games- all of them within the AL East. On Saturday, the Red Sox traded starter Jon Lester to San Francisco for minor league pitchers Heath Hembree and Edwin Escobar. Following that, Boston sent Felix Doubront to the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named later.

But the Peavy and Doubront transactions were mere appetizers to the main course for Thursday. The first big deal of the MLB non-waiver trade deadline had the Red Sox dealing ace pitcher Jon Lester and OF Jonny Gomes to the Oakland A's for outfielder Yoenis Cespedes [.256, 17 HR and 67 RBI] and Oakland's competitive balance pick in the 2015 MLB draft. The trade sends Boston's homegrown ace to Oakland as what is essentially a rental for the AL West leader's pennant run and raises questions to where Lester will end up at the end of the season when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Currently, the A's [who have a number of former Red Sox players and prospects on their roster before this transaction even took place- NANESB!] lead the AL West over the Angels by two games and have the best record in the big leagues at 66-41. Earlier in the week, there were reports that the Mariners, Pirates, Orioles and Cardinals were in talks with Boston to acquire Lester, all of them given even more credence when Lester was scratched from Wednesday night's game against the Blue Jays and Brandon Workman made the start in his place.

However, the wheeling and dealing by Cherrington wasn't done yet. After the Lester deal was announced, starter John Lackey and minor league pitcher Corey Littrell were sent to the St Louis Cardinals- their opponent in the 2004 and 2013 World Series- for right-handed starter Joe Kelly [2-2; 4.37 ERA] and outfielder Allen Craig [.237, 7 HR and 44 RBI].

Following that up, the Red Sox sent relief pitcher Andrew Miller to Baltimore in return for minor league pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez and SS Stephen Drew was sent to the Yankees in return for infielder Kelly Johnson, who is currently on the DL but is expected to play at 3rd while Bogaerts may end up moving back to shortstop.

The Miller and Drew transactions surprised me not so much that they departed, but that Cherrington was willing to trade within the division- although Johnson represents a slight upgrade offensively from Drew. With Jeter playing the rest of the season (his final season, no less) at shortstop for the Yankees, Drew is expected to play second after the Yankees after the Bronx Bombers designated 2B Brian Roberts for assignment.

Interestingly, Drew won't even have to leave Boston right away- just use the visitor's clubhouse at Fenway for this weekend's upcoming series between the Yankees and Red Sox. Game 1 gets underway on Friday night and will have former Red Sox reliever Chris Capuano [1-1; 4.30 ERA] going up against PawSox callup Anthony Ranaudo, who is making his MLB debut for Boston. Ranaudo has spent the entire 2014 season in Pawtucket and has a 12-4 record and 2.41 ERA with the PawSox. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET and the game will be televised on NESN as well as the MLB network in some markets.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB- Not to be outdone by the A's acquisition of Jon Lester, the Detroit Tigers acquired Tampa Bay Rays starter David Price in a 3-way deal that was announced with less than 40 minutes to go before the trade deadline.

In return for getting David Price, the Tigers sent OF Austin Jackson to Seattle and left handed pitcher Drew Smyly and minor league infielder Willy Adames to Tampa Bay. Seattle sends 2B Nick Franklin to Tampa to complete the deal.

The acquisition of Price gives Detroit no fewer than three Cy Young winners in their starting rotation with Price, Verlander and Max Scherzer. Since Price isn't a free agent until after the 2015 season, this also gives Detroit some flexibility with Scherzer, who becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.

Sports Chowdah Update- Twice as Freaky, Giant's Lincecum No-Hits Padres For Second Time Since 2013; Sweepless in Seattle, Red Sox avoid M's Sweep; V is For Vandetta Vanderbilt

MLB- For the second time in less than a year, San Francisco Giants starter Tim Lincecum has thrown a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres. The lanky San Francisco starter known as 'The Freak' when he first came up through the Giants organization in 2007 threw a total of 113 pitches and allowed just one baserunner in nine innings of Wednesday's 4-0 win over the Padres. Wednesday afternoon's outing was much more efficient than his career high 148 during the July 13, 2013 no-hitter against the Padres at San Diego's PetCo Park. During his outing, Lincecum struck out 6 batters and allowed just one walk.

Lincecum's no-no was the Giant's fourth no-hitter since 2009- three of them against the Padres. Last season, Lincecum's no-hitter at PetCo Park came less than two weeks after Cincinnati's Homer Bailey threw a no-hitter against the Giants at the Queen City's Great American Ballpark. Interestingly, the Reds- the last team to no-hit San Francisco- are in the city by the Bay this weekend to face the Giants.

With Wednesday's no-hitter, Lincecum became the first Giants pitcher to throw two no-hitters since Christy Matthewson no-hit the Chicago Cubs in 1905. Lincecum also is the first MLB pitcher to no-hit the same team twice since Cleveland's Addie Joss no-hit the Chicago White Sox in 1908 and again in 1910.

RED SOX- Wednesday night also marked the return of Clay Buchholz from his rehab stint in AAA Pawtucket as the Red Sox were looking to avoid the sweep in Seattle.

The Red Sox got off to a promising start early as David Ortiz belted a 2-run homer off of Hisashi Iwakuma in the first inning, but the Mariners would take the lead in the bottom of the 2nd when Kyle Seager belted a solo homer off of Buchholz, followed by a 2-run homer off of Mike Zunino to give Seattle a 3-2 lead.

In the top of the 3rd, Jackie Bradley Jr led off with a double to right center followed by a Brock Holt single that put JBJ on 3rd with nobody out. Bradley then came home on a Nava RBI single to tie the contest while Holt moved to second. Dustin Pedroia then flew out to right field with no advance by the runner before Big Papi beat the shift and hit a single to right, bringing Holt all the way home and once again giving Boston the lead before Iwakuma struck out Gomes and Pierzynski to end the inning.

The Red Sox managed to chase Iwakuma from the mound in the top of the 5th after the Mariners starter gave up back to back singles to Holt and Nava before walking Pedroia to load the bases with nobody out. Tom Wilhelmsen came out of the Seattle bullpen and got Big Papi to hit into a double play, but not before another run crossed the plate for Boston to make it a 5-3 Red Sox lead.

As it turned out, that extra run would come on handy as Brad Miller belted a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the 8th for Seattle and make it a 1-run game. Buchholz would then get Stefen Romero to fly out before Andrew Miller came in from the Red Sox bullpen and got Mariners pinch hitters Willie Bloomquist and Cole Gillespie to strike out.

For the bottom of the 9th, Koji Uehara came out of the Sox bullpen and quickly got Robinson Cano out before allowing a single off the bat of Kyle Seager and then walking Logan Morrison to give the Mariners the potential game-tying run in scoring position with only one away. However, Koji would get Mike Zunino to strike out and then get Dustin Ackley to ground out to first to end the Seattle threat and close out Boston's 4-5 win over the Mariners.

Wednesday night's game closes out a rather lackluster West Coast road trip in which the Red Sox lost three out of four to the Oakland A's in Alameda County and dropped two out of three to Seattle at Safeco Field.

The Red Sox road trip continues on Friday night, albeit much closer to home, when they take on the New York Yankees in the Bronx. Brandon Workman [1-0; 2.88 ERA] is scheduled to get the start against New York's Vidal Nuño [1-4; 5.88 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 ET and the game will be televised on NESN and the MLB network.

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES- For the first time in Vanderbilt's 120+ year history, the Commodores can celebrate winning a men's national title in any sport after besting Virginia in the College World Series in Omaha on Wednesday night.

On Monday, the Commodores were seemingly poised to squander a considerable lead and held off the Cavaliers to win Game 1 by a 9-8 final. Virginia evened up the series on Tuesday night with a 7-2 win over Vanderbilt, forcing the deciding Game 3 on Wednesday.

The Commodores got out to a quick 1-0 lead after Virginia catcher Robbie Coman threw a ball into center-field with runners at first and second who were attempting the double steal. Dansby Swanson came home from 3rd while Bryan Reynolds went from 2nd to 3rd on the errant throw.

Virginia managed to tie the game at 2-2 in the 6th inning on a bases loaded grounder to Vandy SS Vince Conde that clanged off his glove and allowed the runners to advance safely. However, Vanderbilt took the lead for good when John Norwood belted a solo homer in the top of the 8th inning just past the 335 sign at Omaha's TD Ameritrade Field. Vanderbilt's Adam Ravenelle came out of the bullpen to close out the game and Vandy's first NCAA baseball title.

FIFA WORLD CUP- Despite losing Thursday afternoon's contest to Germany by a 1-0 final in rainy Recife, Team USA advances out of Group G and will face Belgium on Tuesday July 1. In Pool play, the USA has amassed a 1-1-1 record with a 2-2 draw against Portugal over the weekend. Although Portugal has a similar 1-1-1 record, the USA edged Portugal out by virtue of the goals allowed differential. Portugal's first win of the 2014 FIFA World Cup came on Thursday afternoon in their 2-1 victory over Ghana in the Brazilian capital city of Brasilia- besides the draw against Team USA, the Portuguese were shut out by Germany 4-0 in the first game of the 2014 FIFA tournament.

OTHER WORLD CUP NEWS- Uruguay striker Luis Suarez has been banned from the 2014 World Cup after FIFA determined he intentionally bit Italy's Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay's' 1-0 win over Italy on Tuesday. Suarez left for Uruguay on Thursday after FIFA came down with the ruling.

According to the BBC, this isn't the first incident involving biting that Suarez was involved in. In April 2013, while playing for Liverpool, Suarez was given a 10 game ban for biting Chelsea's Brianaslav Ivanovich's arm during an English premier league match. As captain for Dutch soccer club Ajax in 2010, Suarez received a 7 game suspension for biting the shoulder of PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal.

Up All Night Sports Chowdah Update- Sox Complete Sweep of Mariners With Extra Innings, Huge Rally.

RED SOX- Holy crap!

While I'll be the first to admit that the last couple of seasons have left me jaded, I wasn't expecting things to turn around this quickly for the Red Sox organization.

Since the All-Star break, we've seen the Red Sox take two out of three against the Yankees at Fenway [including a walkoff homer in extra-innings on a nationally televised game- NANESB!], Lester return to form in a solid start against an AL East opponent, a huge announcement involving the retention of Dustin Pedroia and one of the most sought-after players at the trade deadline land in Boston. And that was in the span of less than two weeks.

As the calendar quite literally flipped over from July to August, the Red Sox were still on the diamond- deadlocked at 4-4 after Mariners 3B Kyle Seager hit a solo homer off of Junichi Tazawa in the top of the 8th.

Although Seattle managed to get plenty of runners on base in extra innings, they were left stranded while it seemed as though the Red Sox couldn't get any runners on once the game went beyond 9.

Jared Wickerham- Getty

But with two out and bases loaded in the bottom of the 15th, Stephen Drew gave Boston the belated walkoff win with an RBI single to right field, with a 4-5 final. The win, coupled with the Arizona Diamondbacks shutting out the Tampa Bay Rays earlier that night, gave the Red Sox sole possession of first place in the AL East.

On Thursday, the Red Sox would end up facing Felix Hernandez. I gotta be honest- with King Felix going up against Ryan Dempster and a depleted Red Sox bullpen, I was ready to cede the game to Seattle. It looked as though my less-than-optimistic projections were set to come true when the Mariners jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the top of the 5th.

What happened starting in the 8th inning defies belief but makes me think that this team has that special something like the 2004 "idiots". Shane Victorino led off the bottom of the 8th with a seemingly meaningless solo homer to make it 7-2. But the Mariners escaped the 8th without any further damage before Tom Wilhelmsen came on in the bottom of the 9th to close out the game for Seattle and immediately walked Daniel Nava and gave up a single to Ryan Lavarnway before Nava came home on a Brandon Snyder RBI double to make it 7-3. After Jacoby Ellsbury was walked to load the bases with nobody out, Oliver Perez came out of the pen, only for Victorino to hit a 2 RBI single, making it a 7-5 game. Pedroia would than hit an RBI single to make it a 1-run game before Perez got Big Papi to strike out for the first out of the inning.

Already with a spectacular defensive play that sent him crashing into the Monster on Thursday night, Boston outfielder Johnny Gomes decided that wasn't enough and drove in the game-tying run with a single to shallow center field. Into the batters box stepped SS Stephen Drew with the chance to be the hero again, but he ultimately got on base after being walked by Perez. Instead, it would be up to Daniel Nava- who apparently decided he had enough of this extra-innings crap.


Red Sox win by an 8-7 final on an improbable 9th inning rally. completing a 3-game sweep of the Mariners and extending their AL East lead over the idle Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night.

On Friday night, interleague play at Fenway resumes when the Arizona Diamondbacks come to town for a weekend series. Jon Lester [10-6; 4.27 ERA] is scheduled to go up against Randall Delgado [3-3; 2.85 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM ET and the game will be televised on NESN as well as the MLB network in some markets.

Trade Deadline Sports Chowdah Update- Peavy Changes His Sox; Seattle Slew- Choppy Waters For Mariners in Boston

RED SOX- For the last several weeks, there was talks along the lines of not if White Sox starter Jake Peavy would remain in Chicago, but where he would end up on July 31st. So it was to hardly anyone's surprise when the ChiSox announced that Peavy had been pulled from the rotation on Thursday night.

But shortly after Tuesday night's home game against the Mariners, the Red Sox announced that they had acquired Jake Peavy from Chicago and Brayan Villarreal from Detroit in a 3-team, 7 player trade involving the Red Sox, Tigers and White Sox. In exchange, Boston SS Jose Iglesias goes to Detroit and minor league pitchers J.B. Wendelken and Francelis Montas and infielder Cleuluis Rondon to the ChiSox and Detroit sends outfielder Avisail Garcia to Chicago.

Detroit's acquisition of Iglesias has fuelled speculation that Tigers sought an infielder before the trade deadline because SS Jhonny Peralta may be facing a lengthy suspension as part of the Biogenesis Labs scandal.

Peavy, who made his major league debut with the Padres in June 2002 and won the NL Cy Young award in 2007, was traded to Chicago by San Diego in 2009. Since playing for the ChiSox, Peavy has accumulated a 36-29 record- including going 8-4 with a 4.28 ERA this season and was one of the biggest names that any team had openly expressed an interest in moving before the July 31st nonwaiver trade deadline. Peavy is halfway through a 2 year, $29 million deal with the White Sox before his contract expires at the end of the 2014 season.

Earlier this month, the Red Sox made headlines not for announcing a trade, but announcing who they retained after agreeing to terms with 2B Dustin Pedroia on a $100 million, six year contract extension.

Elise Amendola- AP

OTHER RED SOX NEWS- With all this wheeling and dealing, it was still worth pointing out that there were still some games to be played. Boston was coming off of a stinging 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday to knock them into second place. The Mariners made their first trip to Fenway this season, but it wouldn't be their first time seeing rookie Brandon Workman this season. Workman had previously given up 3 runs on 4 hits in two innings of relief against Seattle three weeks ago.

Seattle drew first blood with a 2-out Kendrys Morales RBI single in the top of the first to make it 1-0, but Workman would be working with a lead after Victorino came home from 3rd on a passed ball to tie the game up at 1-1 before Big Papi had an RBI single that brought Pedroia home to give Boston the 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the 2nd, the Red Sox added to their lead with a pair of homers- a solo shot by Jacoby Ellsbury and 2-run blast by Pedroia into the Monster Seats to make it 5-1. Now with a sizeable lead, Workman settled down and managed to throw five shutout innings- including getting out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the 6th by striking out Michael Morse and Justin Smoak to end the Mariners threat.

Breslow, Thornton and Beato closed out the game for Boston after the Red Sox got some more insurance in the bottom of the 8th to seal the 8-2 win over Seattle.

Wednesday night's game will feature John Lackey [7-8; 3.19 ERA] going up against Hisashi Iwakuma [10-4; 2.87 ERA] with a first pitch scheduled for 7:10 . The game will be televised on NESN as well.

OTHER MLB NEWS- With so many teams still in it (or confident they're still in it), activity at the trade deadline was pretty subdued this season. Baltimore acquired Houston starter Bud Norris [6-9; 3.93 ERA] in return for sending outfielder LJ Hoes and pitcher Josh Hader to the Astros.

Meanwhile, the Arizona Diamondbacks sent starter Ian Kennedy [3-8; 5.23 ERA] to San Diego in return for left handed reliever Joe Thatcher, a prospect and a future draft picks.

Rhythmic Method Sports Chowdah Update- Despite Choppy Waters in Game 1, Smooth Sailing for Boston Against Mariners; Poetry in Motion- Ceremonial First Pitch in South Korean Game A Thing of Beauty; Crazy Hot- Ex Baseball Wife Anna Benson Arrested After Home Invasion

Rhythmic gymnast Shin Soo-ji seen winding up for her now-famous ceremonial first pitch in Jamsil Stadium, Seoul Korea. Chosunilbo photo

SOUTH KOREA- This has been making the rounds for the last couple of days, but I thought it would be worth a look since it combines a number of things that I enjoy.



That's actually putting it mildly- I think I'm absolutely smitten. But then again, I'm pretty sure the guys in the Doosan Bears dugout are too.

South Korean rhythmic gymnast Shin Soo Jii became an immediate internet sensation with her acrobatic ceremonial first pitch prior to a game between the Doosan Bears and Samsung Lions on July 6th.

In performing her ceremonial pitch ahead of a game between the Doosan Bears and Samsung Lions at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Friday, Shin executed what is known as a backward illusion turn.

Leaving one foot planted on the ground, she twisted her body around in a full flip before straightening and launching the ball forward -- somehow still managing to throw an accurate pitch.

A video clip showing her flashy delivery was uploaded to MLB.com the following day.

The clip garnered more than 10 million hits in the span of just a few days and was also featured on the MLB Network's Intentional Talk, hosted by Chris Rose and former Red Sox first baseman Kevin Millar [and hopefully consigning Psy's Gangham Style to the dustbin of history for South Korean viral videos- NANESB!].

Shin Soo Ji competed for South Korea during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and also during the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. By 2012, she had retired from competitive gymnastics but worked as a commentator during the London Summer Olympics.

GEORGIA- Oh lord....why is it always the quiet ones?

Former reality TV star and baseball wife Anna Benson was arrested in Georgia on Monday morning after threatening her estranged husband- former Mets, Orioles and Rangers pitcher Kris Benson- with a gun and collapsible metal baton after storming into his suburban Atlanta, GA residence.

According to a police report, a fully armed Anna confronted Kris in the Smyrna, Ga., home they once shared, but that she now is under order to vacate. She was carrying a handgun and wearing a bulletproof vest. The former Penthouse model also had a hatchet, expandable baton and a taser in her possession.

Once she was arrested and searched, officers found Anna wearing an ammo belt and carrying a red knife inside her waistband. A bag of syringes was also found in the house, according to the police report.

Kris and Anna were married in 1999 when he was with the Pittsburgh Pirates and she was an exotic dancer in an Atlanta nightclub. The Mets acquired Benson at the 2004 trading deadline but he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles the following offseason. Some speculate the trade was fuelled by Anna's antics, which included dressing up as a sexy Mrs Santa Claus for a Mets family-friendly Christmas party and a radio interview on the Howard Stern show where she said she would sleep with all of Kris's teammates if she caught him being unfaithful to her.

While Kris made his last MLB start for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010, Anna continued to do interviews and appeared in the World Series of Poker and the reality TV series Baseball Wives.

RED SOX- After their west coast road trip got off to a promising start with a 6-2 win over the Angels last Friday, the wheels started to come off following the Saturday night game where the Red Sox squandered a late 4-run lead only to have Josh Hamilton win it for the Angels in extra innings. The Sunday night game was a nationally televised affair and saw Angels starter Jared Weaver and the Angels bullpen throw a shutout against former teammate John Lackey in a 3-0 loss for Boston.

To the casual observer, Monday night's opening game of the Red Sox and Mariners series at Safeco Field had the potential to be a pitcher's duel with Felix Hernandez going up against Jon Lester. However, the reality was that the Red Sox had their skulls caved in by an 11-4 final on Monday night- not a promising start to the series.

Tuesday night's contest at Safeco was a slugfest that saw both starters get chased early- Andrew Webster lasted only 2⅓ innings while Mariners starter Hisashi Iwakuma went all of three innings. The Red Sox would ultimately go on to win by an 11-8 final and David Ortiz would go 4-5 with a solo homer to tie Harold Baines for the all time hits by a designated hitter.

The following night, in the house that Edgar Martinez [mostly] built, Big Papi set the all-time record for hits by a DH with a leadoff double in the top of the 2nd inning, giving him 1689 total hits as DH. He was just getting started, too.

After taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the second thanks for sac-flies from Saltalamacchia and Iglesias, Ortiz would double the Red Sox lead with a 2-run homer in the top of the 3rd, followed by an RBI single from Victorino in the 4th to make it 5-0 Boston. The Red Sox would blow it wide open in the 6th by putting up four more runs and Doubront would cruise to a fairly easy win after allowing all of one earned run on five hits in seven innings of work. The Red Sox would handily win Wednesday night's game by an 11-4 margin.

Seattle still had a chance to salvage a split of the series during Thursday afternoon's game, although it didn't look that way at first. Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury gave the Red Sox the early 1-0 lead after leading off the game with a solo homer, but the Mariners would jump all over Ryan Dempster in the bottom of the second for four runs, followed by another run in the bottom of the 3rd to give Seattle a 5-1 lead. But the Red Sox would rally in the top of the fourth with a RBI singles from 3B Brock Holt, Jose Iglesias and Jacoby Ellsbury. By the time the fifth inning ended, the game was tied 7-7.

Pawsox callup Steven Wright (not the comedian) went 5⅔ innings without giving up a run after the Mariners bats chased Dempster. The game headed to extra innings and Daniel Nava broke the deadlock with a two out RBI single in the top of the 10th before Koji Uehara closed out the ballgame with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th. The Red Sox go on to win by a final of 8-7 and take three out of four from the Mariners in Safeco.

Their West Coast road trip continues Friday night when they head to Oakland to take on the Red Sox West Oakland A's at the Coliseum. John Lackey [6-6; 2.80 ERA] will get the start against Jarrod Parker [also 6-6 with an ERA of 4.04]. First pitch is set for 10:05 ET and the game will be televised on NESN. Among the former Red Sox currently on the Division-leading A's are outfielders Coco Crisp and Josh Reddick along with infielders Jed Lowrie and Brandon Moss.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS- Three Red Sox players have been named to the 2013 AL All Star Team after weeks and weeks of balloting. DH David Ortiz, 2B Dustin Pedroia and starting pitcher Clay Buchholz were voted in to make an appearance at the 2013 All Star Game next week in Citi Field, however, Buchholz is expected to remain on the DL until after the All Star break, so it will just be Ortiz and Pedroia.

Koji Uehara was among the names listed on an MLB 'Final Vote' ballot, but ultimately lost out to Toronto reliever Steve Delabar when the Final Vote balloting was tallied.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS-  Former Husker and current Patriots cornerback Alfonzo Dennard was arrested on charges of DUI in Lincoln, NE on Thursday.

This wouldn't be Dennard's first run-in with police in the Nebraska capital- in 2012, he punched a Lincoln police officer who was responding to a call about a fight outside a club and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 2 years probation and 100 hours of community service.

BOSTON BRUINS- Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli announced this week that the organization has signed both G Tukka Rask and C Patrice Bergeron to 8 year contract extensions. Both Rask and Bergeron's contract are worth an estimated $52 million- or just under $6 million annually.

Today's Train of Thought- Safe(Co) At Home, April 14, 2013

My oh my!

One does not necessarily need to be a Mariners fan or resident of the Pacific Northwest to know about some of the quirks of Seattle's SafeCo Field. Opened in 1999, the ballpark features a massive retractable roof that can be closed so that the ballgame can continue in the event of one of Seattle's infamous rainy days. The roof slides open and closes on massive tracks and on the east end of the ballpark. Of course, abutting the east end of the ballpark is the BNSF mainline through downtown Seattle, with the roof hanging over the line when its fully open.

This has led to broadcasters, including Ford C Frick award winner Dave Niehaus, having to pause their play-by-play not just for a word from their sponsors or station ID but also the air horns of passing trains from the BNSF, Amtrak's Cascade service or Seattle's Sounder commuter rail service. On a clear day or night, the sound of passing trains carries with the roof open since the gantry supporting the tracks the roof opens and closes along overhangs a stretch of the line where the trains have to blow their horns for the South Royal Brougham Way crossing (immediately north of the stadium). Some of the right-field seats reportedly offer a more commanding view of the tracks than they do the field, depending on which way you're facing.

So with that in mind, today's Train of Thought takes us to the Emerald City. Here, railpictures.net contributor John Ryan caught BNSF ES44AC #7598 leading a trio of GE's trundling southbound past the ballpark (and the Seahawk's Qwest Field in the background) with a double stack train destined for the Port of Seattle just to the south on September 11, 2008. The Mariners beat the Rangers by an 8-7 final the night before and will be on the road in Anaheim later on that night. Just to the right is the tower of the ex Great Northern and Northern Pacific King Street Station, which was completed in 1906 and still sees regular use from Amtrak's regional Cascades as well as the Empire Builder or Coast Starlight in addition to Seattle's Sounder commuter rail

Interesting footnote is that the western end of I-90 is just to the east of the ballpark and BNSF line. Up until the 1990s- the easternmost end of I-90 was the Mass Pike which passees right by Fenway Park. After completion of the Big Dig, I-90 was extended further east to Logan International Airport.

Sports Chowdah Update- King Felix's Perfect Day; Tainted Melk- Giants Slugger Tests Positive for Banned Substances; USA Wraps Up Olympics Golden

SEATTLE MARINERS- Starting pitcher Felix Hernandez threw the first perfect game in the Mariners history on Wednesday afternoon at SafeCo Field in Seattle's 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

The only run Seattle would get came in the bottom of the 3rd on an RBI single from DH Jesus Montero, but it was all the Mariners would need as 'King Felix' went all nine innings and struck out 12 batters on 113 total pitches.

Hernandez's brush with perfection is the first time in MLB history that there have been three perfect games thrown in a season- the White Sox Philip Humber had thrown a perfect game against the Mariners back in April while San Francisco's Matt Cain struck out 14 Houston Astros in mid-June while throwing a perfect game of his own. Hernandez's perfect game was the 23rd one in the history of the big leagues.

So far in the 2012 season, there have been six no-hitters with half of them taking place at Seattle's SafeCo Field. In addition to the perfect games thrown by the Humber and Hernandez, the Mariners pitching staff combined for a no-hitter using six pitchers against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 9th.

Currently Hernandez holds an 11-5 record with a 2.60 ERA.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS- San Francisco Giants outfielder and 2012 All Star Game MVP Melky Cabrera has recieved a 50 game suspension after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs on Wednesday.

Unlike the Ryan Braun announcement in which Braun immediately challenged the results and it was subsquently learned the sample was improperly handled before testing, Cabrera admitted to taking a banned substance and issued an apology to fans and teammates.

With the suspension, Cabrera's season if effectively over. Should the Giants make it to the playoffs, he will still be under suspension. If the Giants miss the playoffs, Cabrera will serve out the remainder of his suspension for whichever team he is playing for, since he's a free-agent at the end of this season.

Cabrera went 2 for 3 with a homer and 2 RBI at this year's All Star Game in Kansas City, garnering MVP honors at the Mid-summer classic. The National League handily beat the American League by an 8-0 final this year, but Cabrera's drug test results have led to calls from some to invalidate the results of the game. Since 2003, the winner of the All Star game determines who recieves home field advantage in the World series. The exact date of when Cabrera underwent the drug test hasn't been released by MLB.

This season, Cabrera has been batting .346 with 11 homers and 60 RBI for the Giants. After losing to the Washington Nationals at home on Wednesday, the Giants presently trail the LA Dodgers by a game in the NL West and will be harmed by Cabrera's abesence from the starting lineup. Cabrera has also harmed himself due to the fact he was slated to be a free agent at the end of the season. If he did manage to sign with another team next season, he would miss time with them should the Giants not make the postseason this year.

RED SOX- I guess it was too much to ask to have two no-hitters in one day on Wednesday.

Following a report from Yahoo.com sports that a number of players had met with Red Sox management to demand that manager Bobby Valentine be fired immediately, the travelling soap opera took to the field at Camden Yards on Wednesday after dropping the series opener 7-1.

Red Sox starter Aaron Cook appeared to be cruising, getting a 2-0 lead in the top of the 5th thanks to an RBI ground-rule double from Jacoby Ellsbury and a sac fly from Carl Crawford. Cook threw five innings of no-hit baseball, but in the bottom of the 6th inning, the wheels came off as he led off the inning with a walk to Nick Markakis then gave up back-to-back singles to JJ Hardy and Nate McClouth to break up the no hitter and the put the O's on the board. Cook then air-mailed a comebacker to him from Adam Jones into center field. Cook would then give up a ground rule double to Matt Wieters before being pulled by Valentine. Mark Reynolds then belted a 2-RBI double off of Junichi Tazawa to make it a 5-2 Baltimore lead. Although a run would come home for Boston in the top of the 7th on a Carl Crawford groundout to make it a two run game, Baltimore's pitching staff was able to hold on to the lead and shut the Red Sox down by a 5-3 final.

The Red Sox will try and avoid the sweep on Thursday night when Clay Buchholz [10-3; 4.24 ERA] will take to the mound against Baltimore's Chris Tillman [5-2; 3.40 ERA]. The game gets underway at 7:05 ET and will be televised on NESN and MASN.

SUMMER OLYMPICS: BASKETBALL- Team USA held off a late challenge from Spain in the gold medal game. Once again, Kevin Durant led the scoring for Team USA with 30 points.

In the second half, Spain had whittled down the USA lead to just one point, but USA started to pull away late and win by a final of 107-100 in the gold medal game for their second consecutive gold medal.

SUMMER OLYMPICS: VOLLEYBALL- After Brazil's womens volleyball team gave away the first set in the gold medal game thanks to a series of unforced errors against Team USA, the Brazilians stormed back to win three straight sets to clinch the gold medal for the second straight summer Olympics.

SUMMER OLYMPICS: TRACK & FIELD- The American quartet of Bianca Knight, Allyson Felix, Tianna Madison and Carmelita Jeter broke a world record in the women's 4 X 100M relay with an official time of 40.82 seconds.

The Jamacian women's team finished at 41.41 secinds while the Ukranian team finished at 42.04 for the bronze. The previous world record was 41.37 seconds held by East Germany, which was set in 1985.

Olympic & Trade Deadline Countdown Sports Chowdah Update- Mike Steps Up as Red Sox Rally in Texas; Phillies Heavily Invested in Cole; UK to Deploy More Troops For Olympic Security

AP Photo/LM Otero

RED SOX- After coming out of the All-Star break with a 5-2 record, including taking 3 out of 4 from the AL Central leading the White Sox, the Red Sox were in for a letdown during the weekend when Toronto swept the 3-game series at Fenway Park where both Jon Lester and Josh Beckett were roughhed up by the Blue Jays.

Things weren't going to get easier with this weeks road trip to Texas and the Bronx. Monday night's game didn't hold alot promise when the Rangers countered a Jarrod Saltalamacchia solo homer with a 4-run bottom of the 3rd and 5 run bottom of the 6th off of Felix Doubront and the Sox bullpen to open up a series with a 9-1 Rangers win.

Coming into Tuesday night's game, the Red Sox were hoping to break a 4-game slide in which they were outscored 37-12. However, Tuesday night's game didn't feature much in the way of offense.

Manager Bobby Valentine decided not to start, putting Kelly Shoppach into the game at catcher. Shoppach got the Sox on the board first after driving in OF Cody Ross home from first with an RBI double off of Rangers starter Martin Perez to make it 1-0 Boston.

However, as Monday night's nationally televised game had demonstrated, a 1-0 lead doesn't last very long in Arlington, TX. After Elvis Andrus hit a 1-out double off of Clay Buchholz in the top of the 6th, he advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch before coming home on a Josh Hamilton groundout to knot the contest up at 1-1.

Things got a little interesting in the bottom of the 8th when Padilla came out of the Sox bullpen in relief of Buccholz. Although Padilla struck out the first batter he faced, he then allowed a single to Elvis Andrus. Although Padilla got Josh Hamilton to strike out, a costly throwing error by Padilla put Andrus on third. Padilla than struck Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre in the helmet, giving Texas runners on first and third with two away [Yorvit Torrealba pinch-ran for Beltre while he underwent examination by the Rangers medical staff- NANESB!]. However, the inning ended for Texas on a Michael Young groundout to short.

In the top of the 9th, Rangers manager Ron Washington made the curious move of putting in closer Joe Nathan in a non-save situation. Although Nathan got the first two batters out, he walked Daniel Nava and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who was batting for Kelly Shoppach. Previously, Nathan had walked only five batters in 38⅓ innings of work this season. The Red Sox made those walks count when Mike Aviles hit a bloop RBI single to make it 2-1 Boston. Jacoby Ellsbury then hit a ball to deep center field for the 3rd out of the inning.

Alfredo Aceves came on for the bottom of the 9th and got two quick outs before walking Mike Napoli. However, the game ended when Adrian Gonzalez caught a pop foul in along the 1st base line, snapping Boston's 4 game skid. Despite the lopsided losses experienced by the Red Sox since Friday, this was very much a pitchers duel with solid outings by both Buccholz and Perez. Vincente Padilla was credited with the win and now has a 4-0 record.

Wednesday night's game will wrap up the 3-game series at Arlington and has Josh Beckett [5-8; 4.53 ERA] going up against the Rangers Derek Holland [6-5; 4.84 ERA]. The game gets underway at 8:05 ET and will be televised on NESN.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS- The Red Sox have traded infielder Brent Lillibridge to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for minor-league pitcher Jose De La Torre. Lillibridge came to Boston last month in part of the deal that sent Kevin Youkilis to the White Sox. Used primarily as a late inning defensive replacement, Lillibridge has appeared in 16 games for the Red Sox and was batting .125.

Between the Indians AA affiliate Akron Aeros and the AAA Columbus Clippers of the International League, De La Torre has an 8-1 record and a 2.91 ERA this season.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB- The Seattle Mariners traded outfielder Ichiro Suzuki to the Yankees after the All Star outfielder waived his no-trade clause on Monday. In exchange for Ichiro, who has played for the Mariners since 2001 when he first came to the major leagues from his native Japan, Seattle recieves pitching prospects DJ Mitchell and Danny Farquahr.

The trade was prompted in part by a season ending injury to Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner after undergoing elbow surgery this month.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS- The Dodgers have reportedly acquired Miami Marlins infielder Hanley Ramierez and reliever Randy Choate in exchange for starter Nathan Eovaldi and pitching prospect Scott McGough.

The slumping Dodgers, who are now 2 and a half games behind the San Francisco Giants in the NL West standings, are hoping that the All Star shortstop can shake up LA's stagnant offense. Ramierez has been batting .246 with 14 homers and 48 RBI with Miami this season. Earlier this week, the Marlins had dealt starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez [5-7; 3.94 ERA] to the Detroit Tigers.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES- After weeks of reportedly shopping ace Cole Hammels before next week's MLB tade deadline, the starting pitcher and the Phillies have reportedly agreed to a long term contract extension.

The six year deal is worth $144 million and includes a limited no-trade provision. The struggling Phillies remain in last place this season, but Hammels currently enjoys a record of 11-4 with a 3.23 ERA.

HOUSTON ASTROS- The Astros sent starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night in exchange for left-handed pitchers Rudy Owens and Cotton Cain as well as outfielder Robbie Grossman- all three from the Pirates AAA affiliate in Indianapolis.

The Pirates will also reportedly get $17.7 million in cash to offset Rodriguez's annual salary which could top $30 million this year with incentives.

Rodriguez currently has a 7-9 record with an ERA of 3.79. The long-suffering Pirates, who haven't appeared in the postseason since 1992, are in the somewhat unusual position of being buyers this season as they're currently only a game and a half out of 1st place in the NL Central.

Last week, the Astros acquired closer Fransisco Cordero and outfielder Ben Fransisco in a 10-player deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. Besides the two major leaguers, Houston gets prospects Asher Wojciechowski, Joe Musgrove, David Rollins, Carlos Perez and a player to be named later.

Toronto gets lefty JA Happ, righty David Carpenter and reliever Brandon Lyon from the Astros in that deal.

Karen Warren Houston Chronicle photo

OTHER ASTROS NEWS- Houston announcer and Ford C Frick award winner Milo Hamilton announced that this would be his last year calling games for the Astros.

Born in 1927 in the small town of Fairfield, IA, Hamilton first started broadcasting with the Armed Forces Radio when he joined the US Navy during WWII. Like former president Ronald Reagan, Hamilton also briefly called football and basketball games for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Hamilton got his start calling MLB games for the St Louis Browns in 1953, their final year in St Louis before they moved to Baltimore. For the next few years, Hamilton bounced around landing work with the Cardinals, Cubs and White Sox before joining the Atlanta Braves when they moved to Fulton County stadium from Milwaukee in the 1966 season.

As a broadcaster, Hamilton is best known for this call:


Amazingly, of the three broadcasters calling the game for Henry Arron's 715th HR on that April 1974 evening, two of them are still calling games in 2012- Hamilton and the Dodger's Vin Scully. NBC Sports and former Red Sox broadcaster Curt Gowdy passed away in 2006.

Hamilton returned to the Cubs in 1980 but was fired by the Cubs parent company Tribune Company after expressing a preference for Harry Caray. Hamilton made mention of bad blood between him and Caray dating back to their days in St Louis in his 2006 autobiography.

After suffering a mild heart attack in 2007, Hamilton announced that he wouldn't be travelling for the Astros road games- although he reportedly was on hand for the opening of the new Busch Stadium in St Louis as well as the Mets' Citi Field and Nationals Park.

TRACK AND FIELD- A 19 year old Aussie hurdler became an almost overnight internet sensation when video of her warming up at the IAAF World U-20 Championships in Barcelona Spain earlier this month went viral.


Michelle Jenneke's warm-ups by the starting gate caught the attention of the camera crew and announcers covering the event in Barcelona.

Somebody thoughtfully dubbed questionable 1980s synth-pop music [and this is coming from somebody who likes some of they synth-pop music from the 80s- NANESB!] over the energetic Sheila's pre-race dance and warm-up routine. The full video can be seen here [full disclosure, it's kind of an earworm and not the good kind NANESB!]

Unfortunately, Jenneke's newfound fans worldwide won't be seeing her in the 2012 Summer games in London, since she did not qualify. I suspect that with a body and warm-up dance like Jeneke's, she'd have a devoted internet following even if she fell flat on her face right out of the starting gate. However, Jenneke isn't just another pretty face- the bouncy Aussie took gold in the 100m hurdles in Barcelona and five seconds of searching yielded this video of Jenneke winning silver at the 2010 Youth Games in Singapore.

Althought not set to music, the 2010 video shows a Jenneke as enthusiastic and bouncy as the 2012 version while her success so far in international competition means fans can aren't being unrealistic when they expect to see more of her at the 2016 games in Rio.

OTHER TRACK AND FIELD NEWS- 23 year old Greek Triple Jumper Voula Papachristou has been barred from the upcoming Olympic games in London when she sent out a tweet about African immigrants in Greece.

The message on the microblogging and social netorking site that got her in trouble was dated Sunday and read "So many Africans in #Greece at least West Nile mosquitoes will eat homemade food"

Tweeting under the handle @papaxristoutj, Papachristou also linked to websites and videos linked to the formerly-fringe Golden Dawn Party who hold 18 seats in the Greek Parliament. Those messages have since been deleted.

Although Papachristou had apologized via Facebook and Twitter, the Greek Olympic committee announced that she will not be joining the team for "statements contrary to the values and ideas of the Olympic movement".

Personally, while I think what Papachristou said was stupid and childish, I don't think that should prevent her from competing in the Summer Olympics. I suspect what she said publicly is rather tame compared to whats being said both publicly and privately in Arabic about Israeli athletes [or Israeli soldiers, or Israeli civilians, or Israeli schoolchildren, or Israeli grannies...you get the idea- NANESB!].

There's also the opportunity for a sort of Jesse Owens moment here. Now that the world has known what Papachristou has said about Africans, just think of the schadenfreude for spectators if and when she loses her event to a competitor from Kenya or Ethiopia. But it's all hypothetical now.

British soldiers walking past a sign welcoming visitors to the 2012 Olympics. Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters Photo

SUMMER OLYMPICS- The British Home Secretary has ordered as many as 3500 additional troops deployed to London to bolster security for the games after the CEO of the private firm contracted to conduct security for the Summer Olympiad in London admitted that they were unable to recruit enough qualified personnel before a parliamentary inquiry last week.

With 675,000 employees, the Crawley-based private security firm G4s [LSE: GFS] provides security guards and montiors for CCTV and alarms as well as cash and armoured vans for its 'Cash logistics' division. The company also runs adult and juevenile detention facilities and does prisoner transport via government contracts.

Amid some reports that G4S guards cheated on written exams regarding the operation of X-Ray devices, local officials in Liverpool said that they were replacing G4S security personnel with 500 local security guards to provide security for upcoming Olympic soccer matches in St James Park.

Although a major shareholder of the comapny has backed embattled CEO Nick Buckles, the fiasco has hurt the reputation of G4S which in turn may make it more difficult for them to secure contracts in the future.

The Daily Telegraph is reporting that an additional 1200 British soldiers are on standby, ready to deploy on 48 hours notice. No word on whether or not Katrina Hodge is among the soldiers currently assigned to any security detail at the London Games.

OTHER OLYMPIC NEWS- Fans hoping to see bikini clad contestants in the Beach Volleyball event at the Summer Games may be in for a letdown as tournament organizers allowed participants to wear shorts and long sleeve tops in the event of inclement weather.

According to a statement from the FIVB press director, clothing worn by players must be of consistent length, color, style, manufacturer and display the same sponsors. Should the temperature drop below 15 degrees celcius during the event, long sleeves and pants are authorized.

This may become an issue since the weather in the weeks leading up to the ceremony have been overcast, rainy and grey- apparently meeting the criteria required for wearing shorts and long sleeves during the event. However, with a few days to go before the Olympic opening ceremonies, the weather in London has warmed up considerably this week.

Interestingly, the beach volleyball event will take place inland- in the Horse Guards Parade located in the Whitehall section of London, to be specific. A 15,000 seat temporary stadium has been erected on the grounds- just blocks from 10 Downing Street.

BOSTON BRUINS-Bruins RW Nathan Horton has been cleared for contact and should be ready to return to the ice in time for the beginning of the Bruins training camp.

GM Peter Chiarelli told reporters that the winger had been cleared for contact by the team's medical staff. Through 45 games, Horton had 17 goals and 15 assists last season before sustaining a concussion in a collision ith Philadelphia's Tom Sestito back in January.

Photo/Joe Howell

NASHVILLE PREDATORS- The Nashville Predators signed defenseman Shea Weber to a 14 year $110 million contract extension on Wedensday, making it the most lucrative contract in the history of the Nashville franchise and the 2nd largest in the NHL.

The Philadelphia Flyers had expressed an interest in the 27 year old All Star and were willing to offer him a comprable contract, but Weber was preortedly more interested in remaining in Nashville.

Weber had 19 goals and 30 assists in the 2012 season, including two goals and an assist during the postseason series against Detroit and Phoenix.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS- The Columbus Blue Jackets dealt forward Rick Nash to the NY Rangers in exchange for forwards Brandon Dubinski and Artem Ansimov along with defenseman Tim Erixon.

Although Columbus had never advanced deep intot he Stanley Cup playoff, Nash remained a prolific scorer for them, making his NHL debut with them back in 2002. In his nine season with the Blue Jackets, he has accumulated 289 goals and 258 assists with 30 goals and 29 assists in the 2011 season.

Sports Chowdah Update for 7/1- Sox Work Extras For Series Split With M's; KG Sticking With Celtics; Big Papi Going to Kansas City

AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

RED SOX- Saturday night's game was something of a letdown after Beckett was cruising through the first five innings, allowing just one hit. However, after allowing a 1-out single to Ichiro Suzuki, Beckett walked the next batter he faced and a poorly played Kyle Seager fly ball dropped in to load the bases. M's catcher John Jaso would then get a 2-RBI double to put Seattle ahead 2-0.

Boston tied the game up at 2-2 in the top of the 7th thanks to a Ryan Kalish RBI groundout and Will Middlebrooks coming home from 3rd on a passed ball. Unable to break the deadlock in 9 innings, the game went to Extras. The Red Sox had already left two runners on in the 9th and did so in the top of the 10th. Seatlle would get a runner to come home from 3rd on a Chone Figgins sac-fly in the bottom of the 11th to give the Mariners the 3-2 win in extra innings. Boston could only hope for a split of the 4-game series against Seattle.

Sunday afternoon's game was a low-scoring affair with Seattle once again scoring first- Chone Figgins coming home on an Ichiro sac fly off of Doubront to make it 1-0 Seattle in the bottom of the 3rd. It was a forgettable outing for Doubront, notwowrthy in that he escaped only allowing the one run in less than 5 innings of work and issuing a career-high five walks.

But the Red Sox bullpen held the M's to just that one run. After striking out 6 in seven shutout innings, M's starter Jason Vargas got Brent Lillibridge to pop out to center before giving up a solo homer to Dustin Pedroia to tie the contest up at 1-1. Like Saturday night, nothing would get resolved in nine innings. However, the top of the 10th got off to a good start as Kalish hit a 1-out double to get himself into scoring position. Kalish would then advance to 3rd on Dustin Pedroia's single before coming home on a Big Papi RBI sac-fly to make it 2-1 Boston. Aceves would have a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th to preserve the Boston win and cement a split of the 4 game series at SafeCo.

The west coast swing continues on Monday night as the Sox head down to the East Bay area to take on the A's. Daisuke Matsuzaka [0-2; 4.91 ERA] will get the start against Oakland's Jarrod Parker [4-3; 2.57 ERA]. The game gets underway at 10:05 ET, 7:05 PT and will be televised on NESN.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB- The rosters for the 2012 MLB All Star game in Kansas City were announced on Sunday afternoon. For the first time in 11 seasons, only one Red Sox player will be in the midsummer classic- David Ortiz will be going as a DH for the American League [none of this first base crap this year, since its an AL ballpark- NANESB!].

The Rangers and Yankees will be well represented as far as All Star starting position players go. Texas will be sending C Mike Napoli, 3B Adrian Beltre, and OF Josh Hamilton while the Yankees will have SS Derek Jeter, OF Curtis Granderson and 2B Robinson Cano going. The Angels will be well represented too, with Jared Weaver and CJ Wilson scheduled to pitch for the AL while outfielders Mike Trout and Mark Turmbo are part of the All Star reserves.

NBA- After the NBA season, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers told Boston media that the club was interested in keeping the Big Three together as long as it was feasable.

The C's are reportedly a thrid of the way there with this week's signing of Kevin Garnett. Opting not to test the free agency waters, KG and the C's agreed to a 3 year $34 million contract this weekend.

Quickie Sleepless In Seattle Sports Chowdah Update- Aaron Cooks Up Gem in Emerald City Shutout; Wildcat Strike- Arizona Sweeps College World Series

Ted S. Warren / AP

RED SOX- The pitcher of record for what turned out to be Kevin Youkilis' final game with the Red Sox was not only something of an afterthought, but he kind of backed into the win last Sunday and wasn't even supposed to start until Clay Buchholz was sidelined with intestinal problems.

Aaron Cook went 5 innings and gave up three runs in Boston's 9-4 win over the Braves to close out interleague play on Sunday. His start on Firday night would be much more memorable, though.

The series opener in Seattle on Thursday night ended with the Mariners' Felix Hernandez getting the W on a John Jaso RBI single in the bottom of the 9th to give Seattle the walkoff 1-0 victory. Hernandez pitched a complete game, but got no run support until the 9th frame.

On Friday night, fans would get to see another pitching gem- this time from the unlikely starter Aaron Cook. In the top of the 5th, the Red Sox would break a scoreless tie with a trio of solo homers from Middlebrooks, Ross and Nava to put the Red Sox up 3-0. In the top of thr 6th, Jarrod Saltalamacchia belted a run run homer to make it a 5-0 game.

As for Cook, he was cruising and did not give up a hit to the Mariners until the bottom of the 4th when Ichiro Suzuki reached on an infield single. The run support he had in the 5th would be enough for the W. Cook was so effective that he threw all of 81 pitches, allowing only two hits and causing 16 groundouts and walking none of the batters he faced. The Mariners were unable to get a runner past second base in Friday night's 5-0 Boston win.


Saturday's game will have Josh Beckett [4-7; 4.14 ERA] making his first start since June 11th before he went on the DL. Beckett will face Seattle's Erasmo Ramirez [0-2; 4.18 ERA]. The game gets underway at 7:10 Pacific time and 10:10 ET and will be televised on NESN for you night owls.

Cooks gem came two games into a Pacific coast road trip after the Red Sox departed Fenway taking two out of three from the Blue Jays earlier this week. The Red Sox will continue south to Oakland on Monday before returning back to Fenway to face the Yankees for the first time since that disastrous April loss where they managed to blow a seeminlgy insurmountable 8 run lead.

Rob Schumacher,AP Photo/The Arizona Republic

NCAA BASEBALL- The South Carolina Gamecocks reign as College World Series chamipons is over after losing Game 2 of the college World Series to the Arizona Wildcats in Omaha, NE on Monday night. The wildcats took a 1-0 lead on an RBI groundout in the top of the 3rd. The Gamecocks tied the contest up at 1-1 with an RBI fielder's choice of their own in the bottom of the 7th.

However, the Wildcat's Brandon Dixon- who usually enters games as a late-inning defensive replacement- broke the deadlock in the top of the 9th with an RBI double. Then, Trent Gilbert gave the Wildcats some insurance with a 2-RBI single to make it 4-1 in the top of the 9th.

The Gamecocks managed to load the bases in the bottom of the 9th with only one away, but they were retired on a flare to shortstop and a flyball to center field.

The win on Monday gave Arizona a sweep of this year's college world series as well as its first title since 1986.

Sports Chowder Update for June 10- National Catastrophe at Fenway; The Devil Zone, NJ Stays Alive in Cup Final; The Heat is On- Miami Surges Past C's in Game 7

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

RED SOX- Damn those Beltway insiders!

The Boston Red Sox capped a rather forgettable week by getting swept by the first place Washington Nationals over the weekend. On Friday night, Nats phenom Stephen Strasburg struck out 13 batters in six innings of work while 19 year old rookie Bryce Harper went 3 for 5 with a homer and 3 RBI in Boston's 7-4 loss to the Nats.

Saturday saw the return of Daisuke Matsuzaka to the Red Sox lineup after an extensive trip through the Red Sox minor-league system as part of his rehab. Dice-K went 5 innings, allowing four earned runs and five hits and a walk while striking out 8 but was outdueled by Washington's Gio Gonzalez who went 6 and ⅓ innings and allowing two earned runs on three hits (including Saltalamacchia's 2-run homer) in the Nationals' 4-2 win.

Sunday's game saw the Nationals rally from a 2-1 defecit to briefly take a 3-2 lead on a 2-RBI double in the top of the 7th before the game was tied back up at 3-3 thanks to a Scott Podsednik RBI groundout in the bottom of the 7th. However, after Alfredo Aceves walked Bryce Harper in the top of the 9th, Nats outfielder Roger Bernadina belted a 2-out RBI double to give Washington the 4-3 lead, which they held on to after Tyler Clippard managed to get the last 3 outs of the game.

Having been no less than 2 and a half games out of the AL East lead last week, the Red Sox have fallen back to dead last and are now 6 games behind in the AL East standings. Earlier this week, Boston had dropped two out of three games against Baltimore at Fenway. For Monday, the Red Sox will head down to Miami to take on the Marlins. Josh Beckett [4-6; 4.04 ERA] will get the start against his former team while the Marlins send Josh Johnson [3-4; 4.56 ERA] to the mound. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN and gets underway at 7:10 ET.



ELSEWHERE IN MLB- Although they ended up losing the weekend series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Seattle Mariners managed to no-hit the Dodgers despite going through six pitchers to do so.

Kevin Millwood threw six hitless innings before leaving with a groin injury on Friday night at SafeCo. That brought reliever Charlie Furbush out of the pen for ⅔ of an inning. Stephen Prior, who came on after Furbush and threw all of ⅓ an inning and faced just one batter was credited with the win. Lucas Luetge then came on for ⅔ of an inning. This was followed up by Brandon League and Tom Wilhelmsen, who got all three outs in the bottom of the 9th to preserve the 1-0 win (Seattle's only run came in the bottom of the 7th when Kyle Seagar brought Ichiro Suzuki home with an RBI single.

The combined no-no was the first of its kind this season and fourth no-hitter of the 2012 baseball season and already the second no-hitter this month. On April 21st, the Mariners themselves were on the other end of White Sox starter Philip Humber's perfect game.

Interestingly, this is not the first time six MLB pitchers were credited with a no-hitter. A June 2003 interleague game between the Houston Astros and New York Yankees unfolded in a similar manner when then-Astros starter Roy Oswalt left the game early with Pete Munro, Kirk Sarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner combining to no-hit the Yankees in the Bronx.

NCAA FOOTBALL- Authorities in Alabama have identifies a suspect in the fatal shooting of three people at a party near the Auburn campus over the weekend. Two of the deceased have been identified as former football players- Edward Christian and Ladarious Phillips- as well as 20 year old Demario Pitts. Three others were wounded by gunfire at the party. Christian had previously quit the team due to a back injury.

Police are looking for 22 year old Desmonte Leonard of Montgomery, AL who is accused of opening fire at the apartment complex to party took place in and starting a fight with partygoers over a woman. Leonard could be facing three counts of capital murder.

Paul Bereswill/Getty Images

STANLEY CUP FINALS- After falling into an 0-3 hole in the Stanley Cup finals, the New Jersey Devils are within a game of tying up the series at 3-3 after their 2-1 win over the LA Kings on Saturday.

The Devils got on the board late in the first with a Zach Parise power play tally [right when the announcer was talking about the King's near-flawless penalty killing in the postseason- isn't it always that way? NANESB!]. It was an uncharecteristically sloppy goal that Kings netminder Jonathan Quick coughed up after attempting to clear the puck, but it put the Devils on the board .

Justin Williams got the Kings on the board and tied things up at 1-1 early in the second, but about five minutes later, the Devils re-took the lead on a tip-in from Bryce Salvador. Despite outshooting the Devils 9-3 in the 3rd period, Broduer turned aside every shot he faced and the Devils hung on to win by a 2-1 final, forcing a Game 6 on Monday night.

So with the Devils a win away from tying the Cup Final and the King a win away from Clinching it, Game 6 will get underway from Staples Center on Monday night at 8:00 ET; 5:00 Pacific time- the game will be televised on NBC and the CBC.

NBA- The Boston Celtics season- and in all likelyhood, the Big 3 era- has come to an end with their Game 7 loss to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night.

The Miami Heat surged late and pulled away from the Celtics late in the 4th quarter, outscoring the Celtics 28-15 to pull away for good and clinch the Eastern Conference title with the 101-88 win at South Beach. Lebron James led the scoring with 31 points 12 rebounds and two assists. On the Celtics side of the ball, Rajon Rondo led the way with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists.

The win sets up an appointment with the Oklahoma City Thunder who came from behind to best to San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals last week. This would be the second year in a row the Heat have advanced to the NBA Finals- last year they lost to the Dallas Mavericks 4 games to 2.

Game 1 between the Heat and the Thunder is set to take place Tuesday night at 9:00 ET in Oklahoma City and will be televised on ABC.

Sports Chowdah Update- Flawless in Seattle; Sox on Target After Rough Week; Byrd Lands in Beantown; Capital Idea- B's Force Game 7 in the Garden; Torres Gets 25 Game Suspension

MLB- On Saturday afternoon at Seattle's SafeCo Field, White Sox starting pitcher Phillip Humber threw a perfect game against the Mariners in Chicago's 4-0 win over Seattle.

With just 96 pitches, Humber retired every Mariners batter he faced and became the third White Sox pitcher to throw a perfect game in the club's history. Mariners pinch-hitter Brendan Ryan has strike three called on a checked swing with 2 away in the bottom of the 9th, but the ball got away from White Sox catcher AJ Pierzynski and Ryan had to be thrown out on his way to 1st base.

Prior to Humber's outing on Saturday, the most recent perfect game for the White Sox was thrown by Mark Buehrle in July 2010 at US Cellular Field against the Tampa Bay Rays. The White Sox first recorded perfect game came almost 90 years ago to the day from Humber's start in Seattle- the Detroit Tigers went 27 up and 27 down against the ChiSox's Charlie Robinson at Tigers Stadium on April 30, 1922.

Humber's perfect game is also the 21st of baseball's modern era and the third to take place since I started up this blog. Oakland's Dallas Braden tossed a no-hitter on Mother's Day 2010 and the Phillie's Roy Halliday thew one on the road against the Florida Marlins less than 3 weeks later [so my humble little blog has been around for 1/7th of all the perfect games in MLB history- neat! NANESB!]

The first pick of the New York Mets in the 2004 MLB draft, Humber went to the Minnesota Twins as part of the Johan Santana trade in 2008 that sent the Texas native to the Twin Cities and 2-time Cy Young winner to Queens. Ironically, the New York Mets remain one of two MLB franchises whose pitching staff have not thrown a no-hitter. Humber would remain in the AL Central, spending 2010 with the Kansas City Royals before signing with the White Sox in 2011. Humber's previous start saw him go 5 and ⅓ innings against the Baltimore Orioles at home, giving up 6 hits, 3 walks and an earned run in a 10-4 loss against the O's on April 16.

RED SOX- Perhaps the best thing about Humber's perfect game was that it diverted attention away from the Red Sox's catastrophic outing at Fenway after the bullpen somehow managed to blow a 9-0 lead against the Yankees. Although Felix Doubront went 6 complete innings and allowed one earned run on four hits, things almost immediately took a turn for the worse when Vincente Padilla came out of the bullpen and gave up 5 earned runs in ⅓ of an inning....and it only got worse from there, with the Yankees scoring 14 unanswered runs to go on and win by a 15-9 final.

The Red Sox had already lost the series opener on Friday in a 6-2 game in which the only highlight seemed to be the unexpectedly hostile reaction to a videotaped message from President Obama playing on the jumbotron between innings. Mother nature apparently intervene on behalf of the Red Sox on Earth Day when the only thing preventing another beatdown from the Yankees was a Noreaster moving through the region, causing Sunday night's nationally televised game to be postponed.

Bard was scheduled to start on Sunday night against New York's CC Sabathia, but was temporarily moved to the bullpen and Jon Lester was named the starter for Monday night's road game against the Minnesota Twins.

Boston drew first blood with an RBI Sac-fly from 1B Adrian Gonzalez in the 1st followed by a 2-run homer from C Jarrod Saltalamacchia off of Twins starter Jason Marquis in the top of the 2nd inning. However, the Twins would come roaring back in the bottom of the 4th with a 2-out 2-RBI double by OF Ryan Doumit followed by a 2 run homer by 3B Danny Valencia to make it 4-3 Twins. Minnesota would seemingly get an insurance run as SS Jamie Carrol grounded into a double play with a runner on 3rd to make it 5-3.

However, not only did Boston's Cody Ross come up with the equalizer in the form of a 2-run homer in the top of the 7th, Ross also produced the game's go-ahead run with a solo homer in the top of the 9th off of Twins closer Matt Capps. In the bottom of the 9th, Alfredo Aceves allowed a 1-out single to outfielder Chris Parmalee, but got the next two batters out to preserve the 6-5 win and break the Red Sox 5-game losing streak in which they were outscored by a combined 46-17 against the Rays, Rangers and Yankees.

The series against the Twins resumes on Tuesday night when Josh Beckett [1-2; 5.03 ERA] takes the mound against Minnesota's Nick Blackburn [0-1; 5.56 ERA] at Target Field. The game gets udnerway at 8:10 ET and will be televised on NESN.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS- The Red Sox have acquired outfielder Marlon Byrd from the Chicago Cubs on Saturday in exchange for cash, RHP Micheal Bowden and a player to be named later. Despite a paltry .070 batting average with the Cubs, Byrd went 1 for 4 in his Red Sox debut on Monday night, getting a single off of Marquis in the top of the 7th.
The move comes as CF Jacoby Ellsbury is expected to miss nearly 6 weeks after suffering a partially dislocated shoulder while trying to break up a double play against Tampa Bay last week. CF Jason Repko also landed on the DL with a partially seperated shoulder after making a diving catch in center field during Friday's game against the Yankees. The Red Sox also called up 1B Lars Anderson from Pawtucket on Monday.

MORE RED SOX NEWS- Former Red Sox starting pitcher Derek Lowe had his 2004 World Series ring as well as a gold World Series trophy stolen along with women's jewelry and shoes from his Florida home this week, the Ft Meyers News-Press reported. The total value of the stolen items is estimated to be around $90K
Lowe, who is now starting for the Cleveland Indians, was on the mound for the deciding Game 4 of the 2004 World Series against the St Louis Cardinals in Busch Stadium, which the Red Sox won by a 3-0 final. Lowe also has the unique disctinction of being recorded as the winning pitcher in the deciding games of the ALDS, ALCS and World Series.

Although he departed for the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent the following season, Derek Lowe returned to applause at Fenway during the 2005 home opener to recieve his championship ring. After three seasons with the Atlanta Braves, Lowe was traded to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for minor leaguer Chris Jones at the end of the 2011 season.

BUT WAIT- THERE'S MORE RED SOX NEWS!- Daisuke Matsuzaka went 4 innings for the Red Sox High-A League Salem Red Sox on Monday night, allowing 3 earned runs on 6 hits (including two homers) while striking out 3 batters. This is Matsuzaka's first start since undergoing Tommy John surgery in June 2011. Matsuzaka could see as many as 5 starts in Boston's farm system during his monthlong rehab assignement.

Although he made a bullpen appearence in Monday night's game against Minnesota, the Red Sox insist Bard will be their 5th starter for the forseeable future. However, Aaron Cook is doing well as a starter in AAA Pawtucket and the Red Sox may call him up to the parent club sometime this season. Depending on how well the rest of Dice-K's starts go, the Red Sox may have some felxibility with Cook or Matsuzaka.

YES, EVEN MORE RED SOX NEWS- Former Red Sox second baseman and current NESN color commentator Jerry Remy missed Monday night's game in Minnesota due to an unspecified ailment. According to NESN and Remy's own twitter feed, Rem-dawg hopes to be back in the booth in time for Tuesday night's game at Target Field.

BOSTON BRUINS- Let's face is- Saturday just wasn't a good day at all for anything related to Boston sports. While the Red Sox were managing to blow a seemingly insurmountable 9-0 lead at the Fens, across town the Washington Capitals managed to break a 3-3 deadlock late in the 3rd at the Garden. Troy Brower was able to get the puck past Tim Thomas on a Caps power play with less than 90 seconds to go in the 3rd to put Washington up 4-3 and give Washington the 3-2 series lead.

So the Bruins headed into DC's Verizon Center facing elimination in a must-win game on Sunday afternoon that was televised on NBC as the part two of an early game doubleheader. Game 1 on Sunday featured the Phildelphia Flyers eliminating the Pittsburgh Penguins by a 5-1 final.

The Bruins got on the board early after Rich Peverly tipped in an Andrew Ference slapshot past Braden Holtby to give Boston the 1-0 lead just under 6 minutes into the first. Just under 4 minutes later, the Caps would get the equalizer from Mike Green before the B's retook the lead on a David Krejci power play goal with just over 3 and a half minutes in the 1st to make it 2-1 and Boston's 2nd PP tally in as many games.

With less than a minute remaining in the second period, the Caps managed to knot the contest back up on a Jason Chimera goal- the only scoring in the 2nd period. With about 8 minutes remaining in regulation, Tyler Seguin forced a turnover in the B's end of the ice and was able to get a shot off towards Braden Holtby. Although Holtby stopped the shot on goal, he didn't corrall the puck and after lazily drifting by the sticks of Milan Lucic and David Krecji, Andrew Ference was able to bang the puck through traffic and past Holtby for the 3-2 Boston lead.

However, with under 5 minutes remaining, Alexander Ovechkin was able to get one past Tim Thomas right off a faceoff in the Bruins own end to tie the game up and force OT [seems as though there's alot of that going around the NHL this postseason- NANESB!].

Three and a half minutes into the OT, Milan Lucic managed to snag the puck at the blue line and fed it to an open Tyler Seguin, who fired the puck past Holtby for the game-winner. This was Seguin's first goal of the series, and he was also credited with the assist on Ference's 3rd period goal.

Tim Thomas stopped 36 of 39 shots faced while on the other end of the rink, Braden Holtby turned aside 27 of 31 shots faced. The B's were 1-4 in power play opportunities while the Caps went 0-4 with the man advantage on Sunday Afternoon. The deciding Game 7 will take place Wednesday night at the Gardeen with a 7:30 ET faceoff and will be televised on the NBC Sports network and CBC.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL- The NHL has suspended Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Raffi Torres 25 games after his hit on Marian Hossa in Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals between the Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks. Torres left his skates to deliver a hit on Hossa that left him sprawled on the ice; Hossa would be carted off on a stretcher after the hit.

Hossa visited teammates on Monday at Chicago's United Center, although a timetable on his return is uncertain. Meanwhile in a statement released through the NHL Players association this week, Torres weighed a possible appeal of NHL head disciplinarian Brendan Shannahan's decision. Shanahan reportedly factored in Torres' prior history of hits on opponents away from the puck into his punishment, and Torres is basically finished for the year no matter how far into the playoffs the Coyotes advance. If Phoenix is eliminated in the second round, then the remainder of Torres' supension reportedly carries over into the 2012-13 season.

The Coyotes shut out the Blackhawks 4-0 on Monday night to win the series 4 games to 2. Interestingly, that was the only game in the Phoenix-Chicago series that didn't head to OT. Although the exact schedule has yet to be determined, the Coyotes will draw the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference Semifinals.

WESTERN CONFERENCE- With the Phoenix-Chicago series wrapping up on Monday, the Western conference matchups are set. #8 seeded Los Angeles finished off the President's Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks on Sunday night, winning on the road and selaing the series win with a Jarrett Stoll goal in OT to win the game 2-1 and the series 4-1. The Kings will advance to play the #2 seeded St Louis Blues, who took care of the San Jose Sharks- also by a 4 games to 1 margin.

The earliest playoff series to wrap up was the Nashville-Detroit series, which the Predators bounced Detroit out by a 4-1 margin.

EASTERN CONFERENCE- The only series in the Eastern conference that has finished up is the Philly-Pittsburgh series, which the Flyers wrapped up earlier on Sunday by a 4-2 margin after roaring out to a 3-0 series lead. The NY Rangers won at Scotiabank Center in Ottawa by a 3-2 final to force a deciding Game 7 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Florida holds a 3-2 lead over the New Jersey Devils and can wrap things up on Tuesday night with road win at Newark's Prudential Center, although the series will return to Sunrise, FL for a Game 7 if needed.