The Red Sox are making more moves, this time trying to make a waivers deal with the Padres to acquire Brian Giles. Giles has the right to veto any trade, but all sources indicate that he would be in favor of a move to Boston. Giles is batting .296 this year, with 6 HR and 37 RBI. He is 37 years old, and plays right field for the Padres. So if he were to come to Boston, his role would likely be that of a 4th outfielder behind Jason Bay, JD Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury. He would probably also act as the DH on occasion, to allow David Ortiz to rest his fragile wrist.

Joba Chamberlain is on the 15-day DL with rotator cuff tendinitis. Chamberlain has been on a pitch count all season because of injury concerns, and it's possible that this latest episode will leave him on the bench for the rest of the year. The Yankees see him as their future ace, and they can't afford to take chances with him. If they sit Chamberlain for the rest of the year, it's safe to say that their playoff chances are slim to none, as they're behind the Red Sox and Rays in the division, and also the Twins for the Wild Card. Without Chamberlain, the Yankees' rotation diminishes significantly.

Meanwhile, the Rays are still sitting pretty at the top of the division. By now, it should be apparent that this is not a fluke, and that they're not going away anything soon. This thinking was prevalent earlier in the season, but it's obvious that the Rays are talented enough on both sides of the ball to keep this going, and I don't think there's any way they miss the playoffs at this point.

Will Brian Giles make enough of a difference to propel the Red Sox ahead of the Rays?
Is David Ortiz' wrist enough of a concern that the Red Sox could miss the playoffs?
Can the Yankees make the playoffs without Joba Chamberlain?

Discuss.

There's really no way around this. Emmitt Smith simply doesn't belong on television. Period. However, while he was dropped from ESPN's Sunday Night Countdown, he's still getting face time on SportsCenter and will be on Monday Night Countdown. Why? Your guess is as good as mine.

Anyway, he was asked on SportsCenter last night to break down what Brett Favre's adjustment to the Jets will be like and, in all honesty, I have no clue what Emmitt said. It's borderline nonsensical.

My favorite line was when Emmitt starts by saying "He [Favre] has to realize the Cowboys was such an integral part of my career..."

Wait, why does Favre have to realize that at all? God, I'm so confused.

Anyway, good to have you back Emmitt. I'll enjoy watching you butcher sentences for another year. 

Welcome back to Emmittville, Everyone! [Awful Announcing]

Hey, at least a few people are watching the PGA Championship, even if you're not.

Robert Karlsson, the only golfer to finish in the top 10 of the first three majors, fired an opening round 68 that still has him in the lead on Day 2.

The other, less bastardly Sigh, Jeev, shares the lead at 2-under. The leaders are teeing off in a few minutes, just as TNT's television coverage beings at 1 ET.

Other good stories to track today:

- Sergio Garcia is in the hunt, as if everyone else technically, but the Spaniard is just one back. What a year it could be for Spanish sports.

- What the hell is Billy Mayfair doing up their? For all the out of shape old guys, here's your man.

- Lefty is tied for 8th at even par, and has a late tee-time. Potentially the course could dry up and give him some more distance. Potentially, his man cans will be in rare form in this muggy weather.

- John Daly isn't in last place. So there's that...

PGA Championship Round 2 Leaderboard

Practice has begun, college football is less than a month away and we're ready. Over the next four week we'll be counting down with fan previews of the Top 25 teams as voted on by you.

Suggested Team Slogan The Good News Is Anthony Morelli Is Gone. The Bad News Is Anthony Morelli Is Gone.

What was learned in 2007 Penn State is still not in the same class as Ohio State and Michigan. I also think we learned that Joe Paterno may no longer be good for the program. The Nittany Lions are able to bring in good talent based on reputation and what Paterno used to be, but the very best talent would prefer to know who their coach will be for all three years.

Expectations in '08 In Happy Valley, the expectation is to always win a Big Ten title. With no clear threat to Ohio State, I think a more reasonable goal is to finish 2nd and win the Citrus bowl. The defense has lost Dan Connor and Justin King to the NFL, and two other top returning starters have been lost to injury and suspension. On the offensive side of the football, a great deal of talent remains at wide receiver, but now we wonder who will throw them the football. Anthony Morelli never panned out to what Nittany Lions fans had hoped, but he also had a great deal of experience and could make the big play on occasion...

What will keep them from fulfilling expectation? ... the quarterback situation. With wide receiver a strength, Joe Paterno needs to identify the guy early in summer camp. Pat Delvin was a top ranked recruit, but Daryll Clark has an extra year of practice and is more mobile. I see both playing a lot earlier, but obviously a team is better off with consistency under center.

Big Men on Campus Derrick Williams, Deon Butler, and Jordon Norwood are not big in stature, at all, easily the smallest starting trio of wide receivers in the Big Ten. But their the biggest playmakers on the team, and need to get the ball often. Galen Hall has been more creative recently with the offense, so he'll need to pull out all the tricks with either Delvin or Clark under center.

Cheerleader Grade: This was the first fine Nittany Lion cheerleader that was found, and frankly, it's all that's needed. A- (you'll notice just about everyone's getting an A. Isn't college football great?)




NCAA Football '09 Sim 10-3 (6-2 conf) with a 55-17 loss to Tennessee in the Capital One Bowl

All-Big 10 1st team: QB Daryll Clark, WR Derrick Williams, SS Anthony Scirrotto
All-Big 10 2nd team: LE Josh Gaines, LOLB Sean Lee

Daryll Clark: 222-323 for 3054 yard, 28 TD's 8 INT's
Derrick Williams: 74 catches for 955 yards 12 TD's
Anthony Scirrotto: 40 tackles 1INT and 1 TD
Josh Gaines: 47 tackles 11TFL 3 sacks
Sean Lee: 62 tackles 14 TFL 4 sacks 1 INT and 1 TD, 2 Forced Fumbles and 3 Fumble recoveries

Schedule and Predictions

Aug. 30	Coastal Carolina W
Sept. 6	Oregon State W
Sept. 13	at Syracuse W
Sept. 20	Temple W
Sept. 27	Illinois W
Oct. 4	at Purdue L
Oct. 11	at Wisconsin L
Oct. 18	Michigan W
Oct. 25	at Ohio State L
Nov. 8	at Iowa W
Nov. 15	vs. Indiana W
Nov. 22	Michigan State L (biased, I know)

Your thoughts, predictions?

With the exception of Critical Fanatic, Cubs fans have a bit of a reputation for being, how do I put this politely, the scum of humanity. Don't confuse them with Philly fans though, seeing as Philly fans ARE the scum of the humanity. But the point is Cubs fans aren't really well-liked. And this video (courtesy of Home Run Derby) will do nothing to change that.

In it, an idiot Cubs fan - painted entirely in blue, of course - decided to dump a Gatorade tub full of water on an unsuspecting reporter's head who was interviewing people for a sports video site called Mouthpiece Sports.

Needless to say, she wasn't exactly expecting it.

I think we all know what needs to happen now - the Cubs choke in the playoffs. But I wouldn't worry, that was going to happen anyway.

This is how Cubs fans get a bad name [Home Run Derby]