The Boston Red Sox won the 2007 World Series. And a nation celebrated yawned.

I honestly thought the Colorado Rockies had a shot in this series, at least until about the second inning of game one. After that, it was just a matter of time. The Rockies certainly deserved to be there, but they were horribly outclassed by an outstanding Red Sox team.

But that's not the real story. The real story is how blase the feeling around it was. Sure, Red Sox nation cared, but, really, after winning the 2004 World Series, it wasn't the same.

And then there's the more pressing issue that we're all aware of but not many people talk about: the Red Sox are the new Yankees. Period.

Their payroll is enormous, they traded away young players for veterans to help them win championships right now, no longer are the Sox just expected to get to the playoffs. They are considered failures if they don't win the Whole Thing.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. The Red Sox have a financial advantage, and they'd be doing a disservice to their fans if they didn't use it.

But for some reason, people rail on the Yankees for spending, but not Boston. Now, the Red Sox don't spend as much as N.Y., but it's still a boatload. And that leads to certain expectations, and it's just not quite as fun when a team wins a championship when that's what is expected of them all along.

Take nothing away from the Red Sox or their fans - that's not what this is about. They earned the championship, which is what they were supposed to do all along.

With playoff baseball comes the inevitable debates about who the greatest postseason performer was. This has been especially true in lieu of Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling's recent performances in the World Series.

Many people are familiar with some of the best postseason hurlers, but what about some other, less heralded pitchers? Are there guys out there who may have flown a bit under the radar? In fact, there are a number of them. While none of these guys had the extensive impact of a Bob Gibson or Mariano Rivera, they still delivered clutch performances throughout their postseason careers*.

Ken Dayley, St. Louis Cardinals
If I were to ask you who in postseason history had the best WHIP (0.58), allowed the least number of hits per 9 innings (2.61) and the fourth best ERA (0.44), your first answer might not be Ken Dayley, but that's the correct answer.

Dayley was a lefthanded reliever for the Cardinals who pitched in both the 1985 NLCS and World Series, and the 1987 NLCS and World Series. He never pitched more than 2 2/3 innings, but he was an important part of the bullpen, picking up 5 saves even though Todd Worrell was the main closer. In 20 2/3 postseason innings, Dayley gave up just 1 run.

Dave Dravecky, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
Just who is Dave Dravecky? Well, he was a hurler who pitched in the 1984 NLCS and World Series for the Padres and the 1987 NLCS for the Giants. Dravecky had entirely different roles for those teams, however.

First, let's look at some numbers. Dravecky possess the third best ERA (0.35) in playoff history, and the second best WHIP (0.66). In Dravecky's postseason career, he found himself relieving for the Padres, and going multiple innings every time. In 10 2/3 innings of relief for San Diego, he didn't give up a single run, walked just one batter, allowed only 5 hits, and struck out 10.

Then, Dravecky went on to starting for the San Fransicso Giants. In the '87 NLCS, he threw a complete game, 2-hit shutout against St. Louis in game 2, and followed that with a 6 inning stint where he struck out 8, allowed 5 hits and the only run of his postseason career in a 1-0 loss.

Sterling Hitchcock, San Diego Padres, New York Yankees
Surprised? Yeah, me too. However, Hitchcock is one of only eight pitchers to have a perfect win-loss record in the postseason, at 4-0. Not to mention the fact that he has the third best K/9 ratio in postseason history. Hitchcock struck out 12.03 batters per 9 innings pitched, which is over 5 strikeouts per 9 more than his regular season average.

Hitchock appeared in 9 games, and he was a starter in 4 of those games. And in those starts, Hitchcock was 3-0. He struck out 32, allowed only 3 extra-base hits, had a 1.23 ERA and held opponents to a .195 batting average and .287 on-base percentage.

Others
Harry Breechen, St. Louis Cardinals: 1943, '44, '46 World Series - 3 complete games, 4 wins, 0.87 ERA, 3 total earned runs allowed.

John Rocker, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians: 1998, '99, 2000, '01 NL/ALDS, NLCS, World Series - 20 games, 0.00 ERA, 4.35 hits/9 allowed, 11.32 K/9.

Blue Moon Odom, Oakland A's: 1972, '73, '74 ALCS, World Series: 1.07 ERA in 42 innings, 5 total earned runs allowed, 4.71 hits/9 allowed.

Obviously, this is but a small sample size of pitchers that have put up very good postseason numbers. There are many more that have performed well, but these are a few that people may not have known about.

(* = Minimum 20 Innings)

Our weekly look at the musings taking place on sports internet message boards, including a Yankees curse, the South, Matt Millen, and Kyle Boller vs. Tony Romo.

- BroncosFreak: "TRADE CHAMP. Corners are too replaceable in this league to have so much stock in a single one. Currently, Champ is just passing his peak when it comes to trade value, and the Broncos have the wrong formula right now." - SwingBringsPain

- ESPN.com - New York Yankees: "Curse is alive and well in NY. What we are seeing today is a direct result of the Red Sox reversing the curse on the Yankees in '04, and since that date the Yanks have gotten worse ... The reason for this is plain and simple. The curse has been reversed and the Yankees, inexorably, cannot keep themselves from failing no matter how "great" they are." - daedalo

- FinHeaven: "Mike Greenberg reminds me of the little punk on the playground who won't stop talking about the stupidest things. Then, after you beat the tar out of him, he gets right back up and keeps talking. Golic on the other hand is a blowhard who thinks he can say anything because your punches can't get thru that subcutaneous fat layer." - jason8er

- ESPN.com - College Football: "Lets assume there is still slavery today, I wonder the SEC would still be as dominant they are today if blacks couldn't play football?" - Potgut

- ESPN.com - College Football: "Things a Southerner Would Never Say - I am going to the dentist.

I am going to college.

No, baby. You are my sister." - dino..head

- DetroitBoard: "Maybe if Matt Millen found Jesus, he'd finally draft us a cornerback." - HB&S

- ESPN.com - NFL: "Kyle Boller is better than Tony Romo. 5 INT's and a fumble what a joke. Romo can't hold Boller's jock."
- KyleBollerShouldStart7

- TheFalconLoyal: "Leftwich doesn't suck at all. I'm sure it was some sort of stupid mental error that caused him to overthrow Laurent Robinson." - Welcome To Atlanta

- ESPN.com - NFL: "Things more overrated than Tony Romo - Derek Jeter..." - john7234797

- BlackAndGold - New Orleans Saints: "It's Official, '07 Saints worst Saints Team Ever! they're the worst Saints team ever because we never had a team with this much talent and played so pathetic. This offense is so terrible, from the play calling to the players I don't realistically see a victory coming anytime soon. The Panthers gave them the game on a silver platter several times, and being the generous jacka$$e$ they are they just gave it back to them." - blacksaint

The best of the Thursday sports blogs, including somebody named Coco. (Hat tip to: Scrap)

- WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson is kinda hot, especially in this picture. (Our Book Of Scrap)

- Forget Madden '08, a new football video game is destined to be much, much better. (Nation of Islam Sports Blog)

- Now that the NFL regular season has arrived, here are 11 stories that can go away, finally. (Five Tool Tool)

- Players to start or sit in your college fantasy football league. (Pre Pro Sports)

- How to make women's college volleyball the most profitable sport in the NCAA. (Epic Carnival)

- Is Derek Jeter still the face of the Yankees? (Bugs and Cranks)

When Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer at the U.S. Open last night, it was the continuation of an unfortunate trend for him. Roddick's career record against Federer now stands at 1-14, for a .066 winning percentage.

While this news must be disconcerting for Roddick and his fans, there are some baseball fans who feel a similar despair when their teams play a certain opponent.

In honor of Roddick's wretched record, here is a look at the 10 worst winning percentages in head-to-head match-ups in Major League Baseball history.

(Criteria: Records from 1901 through 2007, with a minimum of 162 head-to-head games, in the regular season only. Data from BaseballReference.com)

1) Tampa Bay Devil Rays: 54-109, .331 vs. New York Yankees

2) Tampa Bay Devil Rays: 56-107, .344 vs. Boston Red Sox

3) Texas Rangers: 226-351, .392 vs. Baltimore Orioles

4) (Tie) Kansas City Royals: 167-244, .406 vs. New York Yankees and Texas Rangers: 236-345, .406 vs. New York Yankees

6) (Tie) Oakland/Philadelphia/Kansas City A's: 755-100, .407 vs. New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners: 174-253, .407 vs. Oakland A's

8) St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles: 825-1193, .409 vs. New York Yankees

9) Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins: 760-1088, .411 vs. New York Yankees

10) Philadelphia Phillies: 762-1087, .412 vs. New York/San Francisco Giants

As you can see, the Yankees have proven to be problematic for some teams to beat. Those teams aren't alone, though. The Yankees have a .567 all-time winning percentage.

In fact, they have a .500 or better record against nearly every Major League franchise. Both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds have a 2-1 record against the Yankees, representing the only two teams with a winning record against them in regular season match-ups.

The best of the Tuesday sports blogs, including Carmen Electra.

- Jerry Colangelo made a major mistake when he turned USA basketball over to "satan," a.k.a. Mike Krzyzewski. (Nation of Islam Sports Blog)

- Vivid, accurate description of a bloggers sudden writing block. (My Brain Says Rage)

- Remebering Drazen Petrovic. (The Blowtorch)

- Seattle manager John McLaren had a short night of work last night. (Babes Love Baseball)

- Top 10 WTF NBA moments in recent times. (Armchair GM)

- Australian Rules Football players don't want you to know about their illicit drug use. (Epic Carnival)

- The Yankees have quite a few overpaid players. (Big Show Baseball)

- The Sporting Orange updates us on their Florida blog, but much, much, much, much more importantly, they voluntarily include a picture of one of their smoking hot, ball-sweat inducing female compadres. (The Sporting Orange)

- While I won't go quite as far as Hank does, there are some possibly valuable members of the Oakland Raiders that could help your fantasy football team (hello, LaMont Jordan). If only they had a decent offensive line, though.... (Winning The Turnover Battle)

- A Seattle bar came up with a brilliant promotion - beers cost the same as Richie Sexon's batting average. (Home Run Derby)

Many great philosophical questions have been pondered throughout time. What is knowledge? Does God exist? What is the nature of reality? In a similar vein, many great thinkers have ruminated this question: If the current pennant races were porn, what type of porn would they be?

N.L. Central - Amateur

This is the easiest race to define. Milwaukee, Chicago and St. Louis are in a race in baseball's worst division. In any other division, they would not be anywhere close to the lead. Clearly, the Brewers are baseball's version of the "casting couch" girl. They are apprehensive, unsure of themselves, and wondering what the hell they are doing.

N.L. West - Orgy

The N.L. West is a jumbled orgy. While Arizona's kids are on top for now, the whole division has switched positions throughout the season. San Diego and L.A. have had turns at the top, and are now fighting to be included in postseason.

N.L. East - Watersports

The New York Mets are the rich old men of the group. They simply enjoy toying with the other teams, only to denigrate them in the end. Atlanta and Philly are sandwiched in the middle, but are clearly looking up at the Mets.

A.L. Central - Role Play

Cleveland and Detroit have switched roles throughout the season. They can't seem to make up their mind about who wants to be in what role. Early in the year, Detroit was in the lead role, but now the Indians have made a charge in an attempt to takeover the Tigers as front runners.

A.L. East - S&M

In Boston, the Red Sox jumped out and dominated their opposition. Now, the Yankees have made a charge, and are attempting to get up from under the foot of their rivals. Having been the media's whipping boys for the first part of the season, New York is trying to release itself from the chains of second place.

A.L. West - MILF

In honor of L.A., the Angels are clearly MILF's of the West. The Mariners are doing their best to come from behind, but the wise Angels have veterans who have been there before and know what they are doing.

It's that time of week ... time to take a look at internet message board douchebaggery. Today, since they are always a trove of entertainment, we will stick with the ESPN.com boards.

- ESPN.com - NFL General: "Michael Vick needs Jesus. I think we should all be willing to forgive Vick, just as Jesus forgave the Jews, who killed him. I don't think anyone would say we should kill all Jews because they crucified Jesus. I think a small Jail Sentence, maybe 3-5 years would suffice for Vick. Above all Vick needs to find Jesus in his life, and get some morals and spirituality. Vick is still young, and there is hope for his life. I hope he gets out of football, finds God, and serves him the rest of his days." - NorthWestPA

- ESPN.com - NFL General: "any black person actually think vick is guilty? or is he being set up by the evil racist white people."
- lertanze14

- ESPN.com - MLB General: "If Barry took steroids why is he still hitting home runs? How many players have as many home runs as Barry and he does not even play everyday. How do you explain that no one else hit as many home runs and there were convictions for steroid use. How do you explain why he is still big and being tested regurally? Steroids are very short term."
- brandblue2

- ESPN.com - MLB General: "Derek jeter has hiv. I feel sorry for all the women who have hiv cuz of him." - barrybondsthegreatestever

- ESPN.com - MLB General: "ROTFLMFAO at Boston. 4 games i've been calling it all year, yankees will win the division despite being 14+ games back. Lol what a joke of a team. long live the yankees."
- GMenSeamen

- ESPN.com - College Football General: "The Oklahoma Sooners, the greatest CFB team in history, (check the record books losers), is again being singled out by the NCAA this year. We got cheated, and I mean CHEATED by the Pac10 and the NCAA last year in Oregon, and now this injustice. Jason White and Adrian Peterson both got robbed of the Heisman a few years ago. OU is the whipping goat of the National Communist Athletic Association."
- ProudRedneckSooner

- ESPN.com - College Football General: "Illinois: CONTENDERS. The ZOOK era has begun! meow!!!" - toonces_the_metrosexual

- ESPN.com - College Football General: "Favorite prison you have attended? One in Istanbul is my favorite." - RogerCraigNU

- ESPN.com - College Football General: "Reggie Bush sucks. 2 carries 8 yards, what a bust. No sarcasm, just an observation. Reggie will be lucky to get 700 yards on the ground this year, and that is in 16 games. What an overhyped ESPN failure."
- moparmanjames

- ESPN.com - College Football General: "Notre Dame will win the National Champsionship. They will go 12-1, 11-1 regular season. Only loss will be to Michigan in a close game. Michigan will go on to lose 2 games as usual, thus allowing ND to make the BCS Championship game. That's right, ND will beat USC in South Bend, and I can't wait to see the look on Pete Carrol's face. It will be a great season for the Irish." - GiantsKnicksYanksIrish

If you have never heard of Netball, you probably aren't alone. Played only by women in places such as Australia, the U.K., Jamaica and South Africa, the rules are similar to basketball, with a few exceptions. There is no backboard, the court is divided into three sections, and only two designated people are allowed to shoot.

Except the rules are a little bit different in South Africa. If you play there, you better have a racially diverse team if you want to win:

"Netball South Africa’s ruling works like this: If a team has five whites, then it must also include two blacks while a team of five blacks must have two whites. Teams that stick to these quotas will have six goals added to their score. Now, if a team have at least a 6:1 ratio they will get three extra goals but if they slip to 7:0 they get no goals added to their tally."

Since goals only count for one point, adding six onto a team's score is a fairly big deal.

For those of you who don't know, the reason this rule was conjured is because South Africa has had a few massacres problems with race relations over the country's history. This is an attempt to help remedy that.

Frankly, this seems like a good opportunity for Bud Selig to step up to the plate. If Netball can change the rules to help integrate the team, why can't Major League Baseball?

It' pretty simple. One run added to the game for each African-American player used. Problem solved. Except maybe for the Houston Astros. (Okay, in fairness, they have recalled 33 year old journeyman reliever Stephen Randolph three different times this season. Then again, they've also designated him for assignment twice.)

There may be some sticking points, though. What if a player has one black parent and one white parent? It would be odd for the Yankees to beat the Red Sox 4 1/2 to 4. And can you imagine how many different ways Tony LaRussa could come up with to utilize this rule?

Maybe Americans can learn something from the good people of South Africa. Just imagine Ebony and Ivory playing baseball alongside each other ... and the Latinos ... and Japanese ... and Canadians ... and Koreans.

Another Tuesday has come upon us. Message board douchebaggery time!

ESPN.com - MLB General:
"BONDS HATERS ARE A JOKE. ALL I HAVE TO SAY, IS WHERE ARE THE FAILED DRUG TESTS? UNTIL THEN, ITS ONLY SPECULATION. IF YOU CALL ME A IDIOT, THEN ITS OBVIOUS THAT I'VE ALREADY WON..........." - No_Favorite_Player

ESPN.com - MLB General: "Prince Fielder did staroids!!! no one ways 260 without them! JJ hardie?!?! april?! he did HGH! THEN THEY TESTED HIM! ben shets injurys?! staroids made them! RICKY WEEKS! 5 HR! he does not no how to cheat anymore! HAHA BREW CREW CHEATS" - CubsFanForever4

Dodger Blues: "Fuck your team and fuck your town, Gayville. Got rolled up last Fri. night in Frisco!!! Blue kicked that ass 9-1...I proceeded to earn "assistance" from Frisco's finest after some cocksucker soiled my GIANTS SUCK/BARRY SWALLOWS shirt with beer. It was pure bullshit, I tell ya. It was a motherfucker trying to get back home. Man, fuck SFPD and fuck the Gayants."
- Kirk Gibson's Nutsack

Amazinz.com - New York Mets: "You guys need to get over Lastings Milledge, there is nothing wrong with his attitude."
- BeltranFan15

Royals Corner: "What do the Royals really need? 1. #2-#3 Starter 2. Power Hitting OF or 1B 3. 2B of the Future. Get these 3 good players and we could compete for the division title in 08 and 09"
- RoyalTurnaround

ESPN.com - MLB General: "Ripken: Most overrated player ever. Period." - BillSelfHasNoFinalFours

SFHardball - San Francisco Giants: "I want to see an asterisk next to Ruth, who did not have to hit against the best in the world (or his own country for that matter)...AND had a ballpark built to suit his hitting.

I want an asterisk next to Aaron, who hit in a bandbox...so unfair.

I want Bonds in BOLD b/c he hit in the windy caverns of the Stick AND then the deepest park in the country...with a RF wall 20ft high. If Bonds/Mays had the advantages of Aaron/Ruth, they'd both have over 1,000 HRs." - sdstonesguy

Pinstripes Plus - New York Yankees: "Ultimately, this reply boils down to what my instincts are screaming at me: Torre still needs to be fired. I'm sick of him, and I know that many of you are as well. He was the right guy at the right time to take the club out from Showalter to a championship; but that time is done, folks. Girardi or Bowa. Now. Please." - PlayinWheel

Some of you may remember a few years ago, when former Yankee clubhouse worker Paul Priore sued the New York Yankees for $165 million. The case was eventually thrown out, but Priore made explosive accusations, claiming he was fired for being gay and HIV positive, and was sexually harassed by members of the Yankees during the 1996 and 1997 seasons.

Well, now he has jut put up an ad on Craigslist, seeking a co-author for a book he's writing about his time working for the Yankees. The ad reads like this:

"I have many fascinating 'insider' stories to tell about the New York Yankees, some of which are rather seamy. I would like to find an experienced co-writer to work with me on an explosive, 'tell-all' book about my experiences at the New York Yankees, which will include detailed and vivid descriptions of the many things that I witnessed, overheard, or was otherwise privy to, during the time period that I worked for my father or directly for the team. The right candidate needs to have major literary contacts, and cannot be afraid of participating in what is bound to be an extremely explosive and controversial book."

So, prospective authors, even though you may get sued for every penny you have, based on Priore's testimony, it is sure to garner headlines. You know, if it gets published. Which seems unlikely.

Just for a refresher course, let's review some of his actual testimony.

On his relationship with Ruben Rivera:

- "He would touch me, put his hand between the cheeks of my rear end."

- "I was trying to like, kept it low key, and trying to like, push it away when he was, you know, rubbing himself or he was erected and touching me."

On Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada:

- "When they went into the steam room I was cleaning up things around the bathroom area ... I opened the door not knowing they were in there and caught them interacting with one another. They in turn scream at me to close the 'F-ing' door and then later on came over to me and said, 'You didn't see what you saw.'"

He also shares tapes of his "secret transcripts." He claims he took these tapes when he was working so there would be proof of his mistreatment. Some highlights from these alleged tapes include Bob Wickman ridiculing Priore for being gay (and admitting in his testimony he called him a "faggot"), David Weathers calling him a "queer boy" and Jeff Nelson saying all he talks about are "men's asses."

So, if you really want to be an author, here's your opportunity! And hey, you get to split the prospective earnings 50/50:

"If the project is sold, the split on advances and royalties will be 50-50. The split on all future income or net profit generated by projects and activities that are based on the book, such as television programs, movies, personal appearances, speaking engagements, and merchandising will also be 50-50."

There you have it. Revenue from television, film and speaking engagements. It can all be yours. For only the price of an enormous lawsuit by insanely wealthy and popular individuals. Good luck with that.

A look at Friday's best sports blogs, including newly silicon-enhanced Jodie Sweetin, former "Full House" kid turned meth junkie.

- Kerry Wood's shoulder underwent a miracle. About seven years too late. (Epic Carnival)

- FTT wants to help you hide your Harry Potter love. Brooms and little boys - a priests wet dream. (Five Tool Tool)

- Cheerleader auditions. With pictures. Need I say more? (Our Book of Scrap)

- Steinbrenner opines on "The Bronx is Burning." (The Sports Hernia)

- Some interesting picks of the most overrated women in the world. There are a couple very good calls in there. (Wasting Company Time)

- The Sporting Orange is expanding their empire. With all this new power, they need to scare up some new pictures of Urban Meyer's daughter, who is jail bait personified. (The Sporting Orange)

- Want to clean up steroid abuse? Here's how. (Josh Q. Public)

It's Tuesday, which means it's time for the weekly look at internet message board shenanigans. On to the douchebaggery.

NYYfans: "How about getting Barry Bonds on the Yanks in 08? He still has power and he still can get on base at an insane rate. It'd be a 1 year deal at best so it'd be low risk. Why not? It wouldn't hurt the lineup. He could DH easily." - Metroidman

MLB.com (Kansas City Royals): "What about Joey Gathright + prospect for Dontrelle WIllis + low A ball 2B prospect?" - royalsfansince1985

Cards Clubhouse: "I can't wait, I will be singing hallalojouh when Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan leave. I will be partying in the streets of stl. They don't like young players, and Dave Duncan is only good for verterans, who know what they are doing. Anyone else hope we get either Girard or Ocquendo?" - asrabbit91

Brewerfan: "Geoff Jenkins is better than Carl Crawford, let's just stick with him for now if the best we could get is Crawford." - JoeHova

Dodger Blues: "The Cubs need a shortstop/leadoff hitter, a closer, and another bat. So we trade them Rafael Furcal, Takashi Saito, and Luis Gonzalez, and in return we get Carlos Zambrano and two prospects. We trade Chicago's prospects, along with two of our own, to Texas for Eric Gagne and Akinori Otsuka." - UCLA

Reds Zone: "Ken Griffey, Jr to NYM for Lastings Milledge, Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber.

Adam Dunn to ANA for Brandon Wood, Jeff Mathis and Steve Shell

Adam Dunn to ARI for Carlos Quentin, Scott Hairston and Micah Owings.

David Weathers and Scott Hatteberg to NYY for Joba Chamberlain and another prospect." - buckeyenut

Orioles Hangout: "Do you make this trade?:

Jeff Weaver, Richie Sexson, Adam Jones, Yuniesky Betancourt, Brandon Morrow for Miguel Tejada and Daniel Cabrera?" - Sports Guy

The best from the Tuesday sports blogs, including Anna Benson, in a picture I took at our secret rendevous spot. The leash was very useful. On to the blogs:

- Bloggers interviewing other bloggers, in this case, Big Daddy Drew from KSK. (Pyle of List)

- Scrap continues his Hottest Wife/Girlfriend in Sports poll. This time, the entrants are Elin Nordgren and Anna Benson. Obviously, my vote goes to Benson. I don't like classy chicks, I prefer dirty ex-strippers, thankyouverymuch. (Our Book of Scrap)

- The Cubs, desperate to win, were fucking cheaters in 2003. (Foul Balls)

- If Derek Jeter bangs Oprah, will the Yankees win more? (Bugs and Cranks)

- One of new Golden State Warrior Brandan Wright's strengths as a player? Orthodontia. (The Blowtorch)

- A preview of the Arizona Cardinals, including Edge James and crack heads, which goes together like peanut butter and jelly. (Kissing Suzy Kolber)

- By way of court order, Allen Iverson has to make it rain a lot of ca$h. (The 700 Level)

- One of my two favorite large breasted temptresses (who blog about sports) have put their baseball allegiance up for sale. So I made her an offer she can't refuse. (Girls Gone Sports)

- Finding The Smittblog is easy. Just type "Grady Sizemore cock" into Google, and it will lead you right to it. (The Smittblog)

- The Nation of Islam Sports Blog had another righteousness meeting today. And they're pissed. Just another example of institutionalized white America "proliferating the practice of placing young Negro athletes above normal expectations." (Nation of Islam Sports Blog)

- The order of importance of each professional sport in America. Frankly, I think soccer is too high on this list. (My Brain Says Rage)

It is Tuesday, which means that it is time for the weekly look around the world of message boards, and the douchebaggery that exists within.

NYYFans.com (New York Yankees): "Why is the media so in love with this years Tigers? Because they were overated last year too. what am i supposed to think when a team plays over its head and then we kill them all season and they go into the playoffs limping and didnt even win their division after leading the whole year ?? am i supposed to think thats a great team ??

As for this season well nobody couldve predicted their offense being this good. they simply werent this good last year. but again we will see what happens. i remember the 04 marlins and the 06 white sox starting off like gangbusters too and then both missing the playoffs." - donniesrecordholdsup

Blue Jay Way: "Cito Gaston was all business, as were the players. They expected to win. They had T-shirts saying 3 for 3 in '92. They knew from day 1 what they wanted to do, and when that happens, by all means, let them be. This is different, and that's why the manager needs to go. He can't change this now - someone else has to. Mike Hargrove??" - patientlywaiting

Ranger Fans: "Any thoughts on a trade with detroit for texeira and gagne centered on a prospects package centering around andrew miller....hes pitched well in 4 starts this year." - Teixeira Fan

Oakball (Oakland A's): "The offical bobby crosby sucks ass thread
If you hate bobby crosby and think he is horrible this is the thread for you!
Post your hate here!
I'll start......
Bobby crosby is a pussy bitch who cant hit above .235 to save his life." - linusalf

BallParkGuys.com (Washington Nationals): "I feel our future is bright and predict w/in 5 years the Nats will be competing for 1st in the NL East every year and (judging by our avid fan base) will be considered one of the top BB towns in the league." - Bay Nats

North Side Baseball (Chicago Cubs): "It would be just like the Cards to continue playing better for the rest of the season in spite of the obvious problems they have. St. Louis, the city of magic pixie dust." - Soul

(DOTD Editor's Note: As an StL resident and Cards fan, I would like to address this rumor - we do not have pixie dust in the air. Thank you for your attention. Now back to the douchebags.)

Giants Talk: "It seems to me that to have success, Zito needs to do two things:
(a) Not walk batters.
(b) Not throw hanging curveballs." - LondonStatto

Sox Talk (Chicago White Sox): "My first trade would be Dye and Garland to the Dodgers for Billingsley, Broxton and Kemp. My next trade would be Contreras and Iguchi to the Mets for Pelfrey, Heilman, and Milledge. My last trade is Brian Anderson to Arizona for Orlando Hudson." - Lemon 44

ESPN.com (Kansas City Royals): "No way I trade Zack Greinke at this point. There is too much upside and this kid is still young enough to unload him for someone like Lastings Milledge. I don't think I'd even do it for Teixeira." - desertfan

Back in 2002, the baseball world was aghast at the introduction of the QuesTec "Umpire Information System." There was not a journalist, umpire or pitcher who thought it was a good idea. Frustration with the system was evident.

Supreme blowhard Curt Schilling acted like his typical self, throwing a temper tantrum and smashing a QuesTec system with a bat after a bad performance while with the Diamondbacks.

The MLB umpires union filed a grievance against the commissioner's office that went nowhere. First, they withdrew the unfair labor practice charge, then they reached a "settlement" that changed nothing, only stating that baseball would use more than QuesTec to evaluate umpires.

Dan Patrick got into the act as well, stating in 2003 that the Umpire Information System could "decide the outcome of the World Series" if a team from a QuesTec ballpark played a team that did not use QuesTec at their home field. Safe to say that did not happen, as in 2003, the Florida Marlins (non-QuesTec) beat the New York Yankees (QuesTec) and in 2004 the Boston Red Sox (QuesTec) beat the St. Louis Cardinals (non-QuesTec).

After all the initial outrage about what a disaster it would be, the controversy seemingly disappeared overnight. It is rarely brought up anymore, and many people were not even sure it was currently being used. In fact, it is still in play, and opinions have changed dramatically. Umpires have seen it's usefulness and journalists as well.

In an article earlier this year with the Cincinnati Post, umpire Charlie Reliford had this to say about the technology:

"Years ago we feared instant replay, but instant replay was our friend. It proved that we are the major league umpires we are. QuesTec has done that too. Nobody in my uniform wanted it. But technology has given us a different way to grade ourselves. It's a tool to make ourselves better by making adjustments."

In an article with the Hardball Times this February, David Gassko took a look at the worthiness of the system and detailed his own results:

"So the easy question to ask is, does it work? If QuesTec has forced umpires to call a more uniform strike zone, then the differences between umpires will be smaller than before QuesTec was installed. And in fact, there has been a greater than 25% reduction in the true spread (percentage of pitches each umpire has called a strike, compared to the spread in the data we would expect from random chance alone) between umpires since the MLB first installed QuesTec in selected major league parks, which indeed supports the usefulness of the technology."

So, after all that huffing and puffing, it turns out QuesTec is a good thing? Who'd of thought that actually giving something a chance instead of coming to an immediate conclusion would be so beneficial?

Is there anything funnier or, depending on your perspective, more annoying than an internet message board know-it-all who always has the answers to what ails your team (I mean besides bloggers who know it all)?

You know the type. They continually bring up asinine trade scenarios they think are realistic, like Anthony Reyes and John Rodriguez for Dontrelle Willis or Doug Mientkiewicz and Melky Cabrera for Mark Teixeira. If not discussing trade possibilities, they overreact to every possible misstep that goes along with a 162 game season, screaming to get rid of guys who have endured a slump or bad game.

There are many other offenses that can lead to someone being an internet message board jackoff. In what will hopefully become a weekly feature, we scoured team and fan message boards to bring you the very finest in douchebaggery.

Cards Talk (St. Louis Cardinals): "Tony LaRussa has lost the support of his players and (G.M.) Walt Jocketty has lost the support of the ownership contrary to published reports. It is time for the Jose Oquendo era in the dugout and Ted Simmons return as a GM." - Wtxcardsfan

MLB.com - N.Y. Yankees: "Trade Bobby Abreu for Torii Hunter. This is a good line-up with out Abreu." - Yanks1996

Orioles Hangout: "What about a Daniel Cabrera for A.J. Burnett and Alex Rios deal? Cabrera for Rios is something the BJ's probably wouldn't do, but if we throw in taking all of Burnett's contract, maybe its a possibility.

Burnett would be overpaid, but treat him as essentially the 5th starter, skipping his starts and pushing them back often to help avoid injury and he could put up some pretty good numbers."
- Mackus

Sox Talk (Chicago White Sox): "If I were Kenny Williams, I would trade Konerko, Thome, Mackowiack, Uribe, Pods, Erstad, A.J., Iguchi, Dye, Crede, Buehrle, Contreras, Garland, Vazquez, Jenks, Thornton and MacDougal between now and next season for as many top prospects as I could possibly get.

What could they bring? Maybe 3 top prospects each for Konerko, Garland and Vazquez. 2 each for Mark, Jenks, Thome, Contreras and A.J. One each for the rest. That's 25-30 top prospects."
- WhiteSoxRandy

ESPN.com - Texas Rangers: "If the Rangers continue to win and some of the other teams we need to lose do, then we could be within striking distance in the wild card. We are 13.5 games out as of right now however." - Texasfanatic 10

AOL.com - San Francisco Giants: "Bonds has yet to fail a single roids exam. If you have proof that he has been using the past few seasons, please share it." - ZDoodlsBack

InsideTheIvy.com (Chicago Cubs): "Griffey to Chicago. How about Jacque Jones and either Bob Howry or Scott Eyre."
- Broncosoldier

Dodger Blues: "This fucking San Deigo team has run 20 out of 29 against our sorry asses over the past 15 months. No, this isn't the '27 Yankees. I'm talking Jose Cruz Jr, kevin Kouzmanoff, and Mike Cameron. This Dodger team pretty much urinates on themselves everytime they set sights on those fucking beaners from down south." - JuanPierreIsGay

One of the greatest cinematic achievements in modern times was A Season On The Brink, the 2002 ESPN movie about Bobby Knight. The film had Brian Dennehy brilliantly playing the former Indiana coach. In one of the great injustices of award show history, Dennehy was absolutely robbed of both a Golden Globe and Emmy in the "Best Actor in a Made For Television Movie" category. Inexplicably, that honor went to William H. Macy's interpretation of a retarded salesman in the utterly forgettable Door to Door.

To make up for this snub, ESPN has come roaring back. Starting on Monday, July 9, immediately after the Home Run Derby, the Worldwide Leader will premiere an 8 part mini-series called The Bronx Is Burning. This is how ESPN describes it on the official website for the film: "The Bronx is Burning is the story of the 1977 Yankees quest to win their first world championship in 15 years despite being racked with turbulence, turmoil and dissension."

The commercials for this have been absolutely fascinating. In them, we see George Steinbrenner yelling at Billy Martin, players fighting in the dugout, and Reggie Jackson proclaiming, "He can't handle my talent or intellect!" It is grand entertainment, and those are just the advertisements.

John Turturro, of The Big Lebowski, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou and other films, will play Billy Martin in a role he was born for. Unfortunately, his ears were not, so the ESPN make-up artists spared no expense and donned him with the most outstanding set of big, floppy ears you will ever see. Genius, ESPN. Pure genius.
Playing George Steinbrenner is respected actor Oliver Platt, who is known for his roles in A Time to Kill and Ready to Rumble, among others. Thankfully, Platt has experience working in the field of baseball, as seen in his appearance on Miami Vice in the episode entitled, Baseballs of Death.

One other casting note is the improbable but brilliant choice of Alan Ruck, aka Cameron from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, as Steve Jacobson, a reporter who covered the team for New York Newsday.

The Bronx Is Burning has a chance to become a classic in the truest sense of the word. ESPN has shown their acumen for making quality films time and time again. By broadening their horizons to produce an 8 part mini-series, the time is ripe for the network to expand their horizons and become a dominant force in the world of made-for-TV movies and mini-series.

There is no doubt the people who create those Hallmark Hall of Fame productions are shaking in their boots this very instant, stricken with fear over ESPN's impending glory in the made-for-TV genre.