who was able to get a little more breathing room on wednesday night. also ahead, pitcher and future hall of famer john smoltz has a new home in st. louis. why that means he may have a new role as well with the cardinals. we'll tell you what it is. and brett favre continues to settle into his new digs. why he hasn't won over everyone linked to the vikings. espnews starts now. ♪ ♪ >> ah, yes, we are making television this half-hour. helping you stay current with all the latest news, scores and highlights, will selva alongside j.w. stewart. they're the men with the golden guns. that wouldn't be us.

seven of wednesday's starting pitchers have an e.r.a. below 3.00 this season. >> jeremy bond-erman not one of them. >> nice work out of you. neither is dr. no. >> well played. but doc halladay is. these highlights are for your eyes only. roy halladay going for his 14th win as the red sox going for the wild card lead, jason bay hits the living daylights out of that one. >> timothy dalton. >> shaken and stirred. bottom sixth, bases loaded, clay buchholz gets edwin encarnacion to fly out, encarnacion 0-4, batting .190 -- "stupid bat" -- buchholz six innings, one earned, four k's, red sox win 6-1, clay buchholz is 2-0 against the jays this year, 0-3 against everyone else. david ortiz hit his sixth career home run off halladay, most he's hit off any pitcher and the most halladay's allowed to any batter. >> the rangers were tied with

boston for the a.l. wild card, so they couldn't afford a loss. pudge rodriguez went 3-4 with an r.b.i. top sixth tied at 4-4. orlando cabrera lining one into center. marlon byrd comes up throwing, denard span beats the throw at home as pudge drops it. entering this game, joe mauer was hitting .383, the top of the ninth he saw his 15-game hitting streak come to an end. the twins end up taking it 5-4. texas is now one game back of boston in the a.l. wild card. kevin millwood 5 2/3 innings pitched, seven hits, five runs, he falls to 0-7 in 11 career starts vs. the twins. rays began the night three out in the wild card, b.j. upton a double shy of the cycle on tuesday, homers again on wednesday. that's his ninth of the year. matching last year's total and the rays take it 3-1. jeff niemann has 11 wins, most among rookies. since losing five in a row, the rays have won four straight. wild card standings look like this.

boston leads texas by one game. by the way, the rangers open a three-game series at the trop beginning friday. >> a's and yankees. before the game, mark teixeira chatting it up with reggie jackson. whatever reggie told him, tex certainly took it to heart -- top four, yankees up 1-0, do the voodoo that you do so well, ninth three-r.b.i. game this season for teixeira, most on the yankees. bottom eighth, two men on, oakland down one. phil hughes gets tommy everett to ground to a-rod who steps on third then throws over to first for the out, yankees work out of a jam. bottom nine, mo rivera time, gets mark ellis to fly out. rivera's 36th save of the year. yankees win 3-2. they're 25-8 since the all-star break. that is best in major league baseball. meanwhile, oakland is now 2-11 in their last 13 games vs. the bronx bombers. >> it didn't work out with the red sox. so john smoltz will try his luck with the redbirds.

released by boston, the 42-year-old signed with the n.l. central-leading cardinals on wednesday. for now, the future hall of famer will be the cardinals' fifth starter but he could be moved to the bullpen. going back to the national league may be just what smoltzy needs. >> he had some tough numbers. i had a couple guys that i know in boston, they said the arm's got good life. you don't just walk back in after being out and have an e.r.a. in the 2.00's, i think he needs some work and i know he's anxious to have dunc take a look at him, he knows a lot about himself and there are a lot of pluses here so i think it's just good for both of us. >> he will join us tomorrow? >> be in uniform tomorrow, starts sunday. >> smoltz won nearly 60% of his games with the braves and opponents batted a meager .235 against him.

in eight starts with the red sox he had an e.r.a. above 8.00. john kruk on how this helps the cards in the stretch run. >> the signing of john smoltz with the st. louis cardinals to me gives st. louis the advantage going into the division. we know he was a dominant closer, we know he was a dominant starter in his days in atlanta, it didn't work out in boston, and why? one is because he wasn't ready to pitch. two, the division he was pitching in, the american league east, is the best offensive division on the planet. to ask john smoltz to be at his advanced age coming off injury and say, "let's go get these guys out," to me was the wrong move for the red sox. i think wast. louis is getting is a guy who can be very versatile, he can be a fifth starter, he can also be a setup man for ryan franklin and i think when you see the work he's going to do with dave duncan, the best pitching coach in baseball now with the st. louis

>> cardinals and dodgers, dodgers down one, casey blake clears them all -- wainwright seven innings pitched, four hits, two earned runs, dodgers tie it at 2-2. top nine, albert pujols on first, throw gets away and pujols advances to third on the error. mujs would score on a sac fly that made it 3-2 cardinals. james loney flies out to left and that's it -- cards end up winning it 3-2. they're now 10-2 in their last 12 games, clayton kershaw 3 2/3, two earned runs, he's winless in his last six starts. earlier in the day it was >> cliff lee 3-0 for the n.l. east-leading phillies, going back to his time in cleveland he's won six straight starts. in the fifth, he gets rusty ryal. lee with five k's through five

innings. bottom five. ryan howard off dan haren. three-run home run. his 31st. he's got five home runs in his last six games. cliff lee went the distance, two-hitter, struck out 11, phillies win 8-1, cliff lee 4-0 since joining the phils with two complete games, mark reynolds with the fourth golden sombrerro of his career, 0 -- golden sombrero of his career, 0-4 with four k's. we've seen this before. >> we have major news out of college basketball. several sources tell espn.com that the committee on infractions will release its findings regarding memphis thursday morning. the word "vacate" is included in the report. in may the ncaa accused memphis of several major infractions

stemming from its 2007-2008 season including a fraudulent s.a.t. score by a player later to be revealed as derrick rose and more than $2,000 of free travel for rose's brother, reggie. espn.com's dana o'neil broke the story and tells us what will happen to memphis. >> the original thinking was, from what i'm understanding, at least, it doesn't seem like there will be surprises in this finding from what i'm aware of they'll vacate the 2007-2008 final-four run, 38 wins that involved derrick rose going to the final four, from what i'm understanding as of right now, this is all sourced, obviously, is that the university of memphis current team will not be punished, there won't be any loss of scholarships or anything like that going forward for them so it's basically vacating the season where the infractions occurred. >> the tigers were 38-2 in 2007-2008.

>> will and i just getting warmed up. coming up on espnews, more baseball for you. justin verlander leads the a.l. in strikeouts so he takes matters into his own hands. why he could have used some help, on wednesday. also ahead, the angels with a baseball oddity. why it took 79 years to see it. plus, brett favre is getting criticism from an unlikely place. why his most vocal critic is someone associated with the vikings. oh no, t.o., what's keeping him on the sidelines and when he might be back in action.

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>> wednesday was brett favre's first full day of practice with the vikings. favre, who will start friday's game against the chiefs, said, "i haven't been the best player, but i would love to think that every player i played with would love to have me in the foxhole." almost all of his new teammates

agree. >> that's not my job, but whoever they bring in, we know they bring in for a purpose, to help our team win games. he's a teammate and i welcome him with open arms. >> he's a different breed, michael jordan and brett favre can do little things that other people can't do. they've proven themselves in this league. a little bit more exceptions are made for them than other people. >> there is a lot of respect for a player like that, to be on the same field with him, taking snaps for you and possibly having the opportunity to catch the ball, a lot of respect. >> this wasn't what i was hoping for but that's the situation that we're in, so i'm going to stay ready, stay prepared and keep working and you never know what's going to happen and try to make the most of the situation of where i'm at. >> let's be honest. the guy's been doing this a long time at a very high level. if we're all sitting in miami waiting to go to the super bowl, does anybody care he came here

in july? >> fran tarkenton will always be associated with the minnesota vikings but many people forget the hall of famer played five seasons with the new york giants during the middle of his career. when tarkenton came back to minnesota, he led the vikings to three super bowls. they haven't been back since they lost super bowl xi. enter brett favre, who is trying to do what tarkenton could not -- bring the vikings a super bowl title and tarkenton is upset with how it all went down. >> disrespected his team. the green bay packers provided him with stability, players, coaches, a great, historic organization for 16 years. he tells them, "i'm retired." they go down to mississippi, he says "i'm retired." they get their team set with aaron brooks. at the last-minute he says, like he does now, "i want to come back." you know what they decided to do? they said no. they said, "if you come back you've got to compete." he didn't want to do that. he had already been talking to

minnesota to try to manipulate that. that's disrespect for his team. goes to new york. do you see the new york jets try to get him to come back? played there for a year. they did not tried to sign him to come back. neither did the green bay packers. i think that if he wants to play, go play, but don't play games. >> favre turns 40 in october. not many quarterbacks have lasted into their 40's. with a good year, favre could beat the numbers of warren moon, len dawson and sonny jurgenson did in their golden age. >> no t.o. this weekend -- the bills prize acquisition with an injured toe injured in the hall of fame game. dick jauron says owens will be back on the field next week. he's missed five of six practices and a preseason game. >> nascar champion jimmie johnson and his number 48 car were at the white house. joining j.j. were other sprint cup drivers and past champions. president obama said "fortunately we got jimmy to

agree not to do any burnouts and tear up our backyard." obama joined our "nascar now" crew. >> you're excellent, mr. president, at filling out your college basketball bracket. you picked the tar heels to win the championship. >> i did, i'm sorry. >> what about the chase championship? did you fill out that bracket? >> first of all, it's a little early. we've got to see more information before we make a final determination but when you have champions like jimmie johnson, jeff gordon, tony stewart, just a lot of folks who are capable of winning at any given time, so i'm not going to pretend like i can pick it but maybe, you know, when we get right there down to the end, i'll go ahead and take the plunge. >> the nascar sprint cup series is at bristol saturday night.

>> the term murderers' row became eternally associated with the core of the 1927 yankees hitting lineup that included babe ruth and lou gehrig. the 2009 angels, or at least tuesday's version of them will be known as hitters' heaven. the entire lineup has .300 hitters. you have to go back to 1930 and the new york giants and the st. louis cardinals to find such a lineup. howie kendrick was one of two angels in the lineup wednesday night that was not hitting .300 and he's the one that came up with the big hit vs. the trine. top five. no score. grounding one up the middle. kendry morales, mike napoli scores, napoli batting .298, slacker, jered weaver recording his second career shutout, the eighth shutout for the halos this season -- the l.a.-a improve to 24-16 since june

12th. >> mariners and the a.l. central-leading tigers. justin verlander going for his 14th win. didn't get any offensive support. in the fifth, he served it up to ichiro -- two-run home run. his eighth. the mariners take it 3-1. ian snell wins for the first time with seattle. only the second time verlander has lost at home this year. justin verlander leads the american league with 204 strikeouts. he racked up his sixth double-digit strikeout game of the season. he became the third tigers pitcher to have a 200-strikeout season in the last 35 years. he joins jack morris and jeremy bonderman. still to come on espnews, the n.l. wild card race. as the giants chase the rockies, why they should also be looking over their shoulder. and marcellus wiley tells us why tony romo and the cowboys should be careful what they wish for. . ♪

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possibility according to the sources. the cowboys finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs in the last sunday of the season. they'll have a new look. gone are terrell owens, jones, and williams.

marcellus on the big esgest iss >> the biggest problem is going to be at the wide receiver program. yeah, you get rid of terrell owens and his drama, but you got rid of touchdowns and production, and how are you going to replace that? roy williams stumbled out the blocks and didn't make much of an impact. crayton is better suited at a number three position, and you have a strong running game, but the balance that you need on offense is just not there. will roy williams step up and become the next terrell owens for this team? i don't see that happening. i see them struggling because they don't have that balance on offense, and they're going to miss t.o. >> they will. especially his production. wide receiving corps is notably thinner, roy williams and patrick crayton have any real experience for the cowboys. for the three things you really need to know about the cowboys log on to espn.com and check three and out on the nfl home

page. the redskins are next up on thursday. >> venus and serena williams are buying a share of the mime he dolphins. they join gloria and estvan to own a share of the team. serena taking on slavona. serena goes to the forehand, 6-3. second set, serena goes back to the forehand, and will, we're going to give her some style points on this one. she wins 3-2 on the third round. >> i can barely touch my kneecaps. it's been a while since burnley beat manchester united. they were about due.

steven jordan sending it into the box. robby blake scores on the beautiful volley. burnley up 1-0. one more look, nice cross by jordan. great first touch by blake. 44th minute, michael carric stepping up, and his shot saved by brian jenson. second out, stoppage time, burnley fans watching intently, final whistle blows, burnley wins three points, and pulls off an upset, their first win against man u since 1968. move on the diamond, the n.l. leading rockies, troy tulowitzki coming through, right down the left field line, that brings home two runs, rockies up 2-0, and they win 5-4, jason marquis becomes the second national league pitcher to 14 wins this season and pulls to within one

victory of 2004. colorado's winning streak is tied for its longest winning streak within this month. giants came in a game behind the rockies in the nl wild card, bronson arroyo has a shutout going here in the eighth, nate schierholtz into left, wladimir balentien, no, sir. edgar renteria scores. that was the only run of the game. 16th shutout of the year for the giants, most in the majors, giants on a three-game win streak. so the nl wild card looks like this. the rockies win, >> still to come on espnews, red sox, rangers and rays all reaching for that a.l. wild card spot. who lost ground in the race on wednesday night. plus, allegations threaten to rock the memphis basketball program. what punishment the ncaa has in mind.

wassup man. keys. keys. stacy, keys. girl. um. billy. hi, boy. saddle. hermes wassup, little buddy, wing-tipped sandals. let's go. nobody flying tonight. hold it there big guy. yeah the warp drive hand it over your culture is primitive, yet so funky. (announcer) there are captains in every crew. calling all captains drink responsibly.

man: hip, hip! jorge! jorge! jorge! jorge!

ma#2: hip, hip! jorge! jorge! jorge! jorge! man #3: hip, hip! jorge! jorge! jorge! jorge! >> i'm eric karabell talking fantasy football. you might have heard, brett favre's a minnesota viking. let's discuss this for fantasy value. if you had any doubts about who

the number one overall pick was, there are no doubts now, adrian peterson is going to go up. i think he makes a run of 2,000 yard if you were thinking of michael turner or m.j.d. number one, forget about it, adrian peterson is number one, the big leader is bernard berrian, he led the nfl in yards per catch at 20 yards per catch, good considering the quarterbacks he's had, we're projecting him at well over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns and i think he's going to do better than that, i remember a few years ago greg jennings emerged as a big guy in brett favre's final year at green bay, i think bernard berrian could do that and he's not going in the top 20 in wide receivers now. he should be. he's a big sleeper for the middle round. favre, by the way, don't think he's not in my top 20, i think he's in the 15-18 range, last year his mess happened when his arm got hurt. he's healthy now. i'm eric karabell. check out our free draft kit at espn.com.

>> next on espnews. the top of the american league wild card is air tight between the red sox, rangers and rays. who was able to get a little more breathing room on wednesday night. also ahead, pitcher and future hall of famer john smoltz has a new home in st. louis. why that means he may have a new role as well with the cardinals. we'll tell you what it is. and brett favre continues to settle into his new digs. why he hasn't won over everyone linked to the vikings. espnews starts now. ♪ ♪

>> ah, yes, we are making television this half-hour. helping you stay current with all the latest news, scores and highlights, will selva alongside j.w. stewart. they're the men with the golden guns. that wouldn't be us. seven of wednesday's starting pitchers have an e.r.a. below 3.00 this season. >> jeremy bond-erman not one of them. >> nice work out of you. neither is dr. no. >> well played. but doc halladay is. these highlights are for your eyes only. roy halladay going for his 14th win as the red sox going for the wild card lead, jason bay hits the living daylights out of that one. >> timothy dalton. >> shaken and stirred. bottom sixth, bases loaded, clay buchholz gets edwin encarnacion

to fly out, encarnacion 0-4, batting .190 -- "stupid bat" -- buchholz six innings, one earned, four k's, red sox win 6-1, clay buchholz is 2-0 against the jays this year, 0-3 against everyone else. david ortiz hit his sixth career home run off halladay, most he's hit off any pitcher and the most halladay's allowed to any batter. >> the rangers were tied with boston for the a.l. wild card, so they couldn't afford a loss. pudge rodriguez went 3-4 with an r.b.i. top sixth tied at 4-4. orlando cabrera lining one into center. marlon byrd comes up throwing, denard span beats the throw at home as pudge drops it. entering this game, joe mauer was hitting .383, the top of the ninth he saw his 15-game hitting streak come to an end. the twins end up taking it 5-4. texas is now one game back of boston in the a.l. wild card.

kevin millwood 5 2/3 innings pitched, seven hits, five runs, he falls to 0-7 in 11 career starts vs. the twins. rays began the night three out in the wild card, b.j. upton a double shy of the cycle on tuesday, homers again on wednesday. that's his ninth of the year. matching last year's total and the rays take it 3-1. jeff niemann has 11 wins, most among rookies. since losing five in a row, the rays have won four straight. wild card standings look like this. boston leads texas by one game. by the way, the rangers open a three-game series at the trop beginning friday. >> a's and yankees. before the game, mark teixeira chatting it up with reggie jackson. whatever reggie told him, tex certainly took it to heart -- top four, yankees up 1-0, do the voodoo that you do so well, ninth three-r.b.i. game this season for teixeira, most on the yankees. bottom eighth, two men on,

oakland down one. phil hughes gets tommy everett to ground to a-rod who steps on third then throws over to first for the out, yankees work out of a jam. bottom nine, mo rivera time, gets mark ellis to fly out. rivera's 36th save of the year. yankees win 3-2. they're 25-8 since the all-star break. that is best in major league baseball. meanwhile, oakland is now 2-11 in their last 13 games vs. the bronx bombers. >> it didn't work out with the red sox. so john smoltz will try his luck with the redbirds. released by boston, the 42-year-old signed with the n.l. central-leading cardinals on wednesday. for now, the future hall of famer will be the cardinals' fifth starter but he could be moved to the bullpen. going back to the national league may be just what smoltzy needs. >> he had some tough numbers. i had a couple guys that i know in boston, they said the arm's got good life. you don't just walk back in after being out and have an e.r.a. in the 2.00's, i think he

needs some work and i know he's anxious to have dunc take a look at him, he knows a lot about himself and there are a lot of pluses here so i think it's just good for both of us. >> he will join us tomorrow? >> be in uniform tomorrow, starts sunday. >> smoltz won nearly 60% of his games with the braves and opponents batted a meager .235 against him. in eight starts with the red sox he had an e.r.a. above 8.00. john kruk on how this helps the cards in the stretch run. >> the signing of john smoltz with the st. louis cardinals to me gives st. louis the advantage going into the division. we know he was a dominant closer, we know he was a dominant starter in his days in atlanta, it didn't work out in boston, and why? one is because he wasn't ready to pitch. two, the division he was pitching in, the american league east, is the best offensive division on the planet. to ask john smoltz to be at his advanced age coming off injury

and say, "let's go get these guys out," to me was the wrong move for the red sox. i think wast. louis is getting is a guy who can be very versatile, he can be a fifth starter, he can also be a setup man for ryan franklin and i think when you see the work he's going to do with dave duncan, the best pitching coach in baseball now with the st. louis >> cardinals and dodgers, dodgers down one, casey blake clears them all -- wainwright seven innings pitched, four hits, two earned runs, dodgers tie it at 2-2. top nine, albert pujols on first, throw gets away and pujols advances to third on the error. mujs would score on a sac fly that made it 3-2 cardinals. james loney flies out to left and that's it -- cards end up

winning it 3-2. they're now 10-2 in their last 12 games, clayton kershaw 3 2/3, two earned runs, he's winless in his last six starts. earlier in the day it was >> cliff lee 3-0 for the n.l. east-leading phillies, going back to his time in cleveland he's won six straight starts. in the fifth, he gets rusty ryal. lee with five k's through five innings. bottom five. ryan howard off dan haren. three-run home run. his 31st. he's got five home runs in his last six games. cliff lee went the distance, two-hitter, struck out 11, phillies win 8-1, cliff lee 4-0 since joining the phils with two complete games, mark reynolds with the fourth golden sombrerro of his career, 0 -- golden

sombrero of his career, 0-4 with four k's. we've seen this before. >> we have major news out of college basketball. several sources tell espn.com that the committee on infractions will release its findings regarding memphis thursday morning. the word "vacate" is included in the report. in may the ncaa accused memphis of several major infractions stemming from its 2007-2008 season including a fraudulent s.a.t. score by a player later to be revealed as derrick rose and more than $2,000 of free travel for rose's brother, reggie. espn.com's dana o'neil broke the story and tells us what will happen to memphis. >> the original thinking was, from what i'm understanding, at least, it doesn't seem like there will be surprises in this finding from what i'm aware of they'll vacate the 2007-2008

final-four run, 38 wins that involved derrick rose going to the final four, from what i'm understanding as of right now, this is all sourced, obviously, is that the university of memphis current team will not be punished, there won't be any loss of scholarships or anything like that going forward for them so it's basically vacating the season where the infractions occurred. >> the tigers were 38-2 in 2007-2008. >> will and i just getting warmed up. coming up on espnews, more baseball for you. justin verlander leads the a.l. in strikeouts so he takes matters into his own hands. why he could have used some help, on wednesday. also ahead, the angels with a baseball oddity. why it took 79 years to see it. plus, brett favre is getting

criticism from an unlikely place. why his most vocal critic is someone associated with the vikings. oh no, t.o., what's keeping him on the sidelines and when he might be back in action. hi.

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>> wednesday was brett favre's first full day of practice with the vikings. favre, who will start friday's game against the chiefs, said, "i haven't been the best player, but i would love to think that every player i played with would love to have me in the foxhole." almost all of his new teammates

agree. >> that's not my job, but whoever they bring in, we know they bring in for a purpose, to help our team win games. he's a teammate and i welcome him with open arms. >> he's a different breed, michael jordan and brett favre can do little things that other people can't do. they've proven themselves in this league. a little bit more exceptions are made for them than other people. >> there is a lot of respect for a player like that, to be on the same field with him, taking snaps for you and possibly having the opportunity to catch the ball, a lot of respect. >> this wasn't what i was hoping for but that's the situation that we're in, so i'm going to stay ready, stay prepared and keep working and you never know what's going to happen and try to make the most of the situation of where i'm at. >> let's be honest. the guy's been doing this a long time at a very high level. if we're all sitting in miami waiting to go to the super bowl, does anybody care he came here

in july? >> fran tarkenton will always be associated with the minnesota vikings but many people forget the hall of famer played five seasons with the new york giants during the middle of his career. when tarkenton came back to minnesota, he led the vikings to three super bowls. they haven't been back since they lost super bowl xi. enter brett favre, who is trying to do what tarkenton could not -- bring the vikings a super bowl title and tarkenton is upset with how it all went down. >> disrespected his team. the green bay packers provided him with stability, players, coaches, a great, historic organization for 16 years. he tells them, "i'm retired." they go down to mississippi, he says "i'm retired." they get their team set with aaron brooks. at the last-minute he says, like he does now, "i want to come back." you know what they decided to do? they said no. they said, "if you come back you've got to compete." he didn't want to do that. he had already been talking to

minnesota to try to manipulate that. that's disrespect for his team. goes to new york. do you see the new york jets try to get him to come back? played there for a year. they did not tried to sign him to come back. neither did the green bay packers. i think that if he wants to play, go play, but don't play games. >> favre turns 40 in october. not many quarterbacks have lasted into their 40's. with a good year, favre could beat the numbers of warren moon, len dawson and sonny jurgenson did in their golden age. >> no t.o. this weekend -- the bills prize acquisition with an injured toe injured in the hall of fame game. dick jauron says owens will be back on the field next week. he's missed five of six practices and a preseason game. >> nascar champion jimmie johnson and his number 48 car were at the white house. joining j.j. were other sprint cup drivers and past champions.

president obama said "fortunately we got jimmy to agree not to do any burnouts and tear up our backyard." obama joined our "nascar now" crew. >> you're excellent, mr. president, at filling out your college basketball bracket. you picked the tar heels to win the championship. >> i did, i'm sorry. >> what about the chase championship? did you fill out that bracket? >> first of all, it's a little early. we've got to see more information before we make a final determination but when you have champions like jimmie johnson, jeff gordon, tony stewart, just a lot of folks who are capable of winning at any given time, so i'm not going to pretend like i can pick it but maybe, you know, when we get right there down to the end, i'll go ahead and take the plunge. >> the nascar sprint cup series is at bristol saturday night.

>> the term murderers' row became eternally associated with the core of the 1927 yankees hitting lineup that included babe ruth and lou gehrig. the 2009 angels, or at least tuesday's version of them will be known as hitters' heaven. the entire lineup has .300 hitters. you have to go back to 1930 and the new york giants and the st. louis cardinals to find such a lineup. howie kendrick was one of two angels in the lineup wednesday night that was not hitting .300 and he's the one that came up with the big hit vs. the trine. top five. no score. grounding one up the middle. kendry morales, mike napoli scores, napoli batting .298, slacker, jered weaver recording his second career shutout, the eighth shutout for the halos this season -- the l.a.-a improve to 24-16 since june

12th. >> mariners and the a.l. central-leading tigers. justin verlander going for his 14th win. didn't get any offensive support. in the fifth, he served it up to ichiro -- two-run home run. his eighth. the mariners take it 3-1. ian snell wins for the first time with seattle. only the second time verlander has lost at home this year. justin verlander leads the american league with 204 strikeouts. he racked up his sixth double-digit strikeout game of the season. he became the third tigers pitcher to have a 200-strikeout season in the last 35 years. he joins jack morris and jeremy bonderman. still to come on espnews, the n.l. wild card race. as the giants chase the rockies, why they should also be looking over their shoulder. and marcellus wiley tells us why tony romo and the cowboys should be careful what they wish for. ♪ you and i must make a pact

♪ we must bring salvation back ♪ ♪ where there is love ♪ i'll be there ( i'll be there ) ♪ ♪ don't you know, baby, yeah ♪ ♪ i'll be there ♪ i'll be there

possibility according to the sources. the cowboys finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs in the last sunday of the season. they'll have a new look. gone are terrell owens, jones, and williams.

marcellus on the big esgest iss >> the biggest problem is going to be at the wide receiver program. yeah, you get rid of terrell owens and his drama, but you got rid of touchdowns and production, and how are you going to replace that? roy williams stumbled out the blocks and didn't make much of an impact. crayton is better suited at a number three position, and you have a strong running game, but the balance that you need on offense is just not there. will roy williams step up and become the next terrell owens for this team? i don't see that happening. i see them struggling because they don't have that balance on offense, and they're going to miss t.o. >> they will. especially his production. wide receiving corps is notably thinner, roy williams and patrick crayton have any real experience for the cowboys. for the three things you really need to know about the cowboys log on to espn.com and check

three and out on the nfl home page. the redskins are next up on thursday. >> venus and serena williams are buying a share of the mime he dolphins. they join gloria and estvan to own a share of the team. serena taking on slavona. serena goes to the forehand, 6-3. second set, serena goes back to the forehand, and will, we're going to give her some style points on this one. she wins 3-2 on the third round. >> i can barely touch my kneecaps. it's been a while since burnley beat manchester united. they were about due.

steven jordan sending it into the box. robby blake scores on the beautiful volley. burnley up 1-0. one more look, nice cross by jordan. great first touch by blake. 44th minute, michael carric stepping up, and his shot saved by brian jenson. second out, stoppage time, burnley fans watching intently, final whistle blows, burnley wins three points, and pulls off an upset, their first win against man u since 1968. move on the diamond, the n.l. leading rockies, troy tulowitzki coming through, right down the left field line, that brings home two runs, rockies up 2-0, and they win 5-4, jason marquis becomes the second national league pitcher to 14 wins this season and pulls to within one

victory of 2004. colorado's winning streak is tied for its longest winning streak within this month. giants came in a game behind the rockies in the nl wild card, bronson arroyo has a shutout going here in the eighth, nate schierholtz into left, wladimir balentien, no, sir. edgar renteria scores. that was the only run of the game. 16th shutout of the year for the giants, most in the majors, giants on a three-game win streak. so the nl wild card looks like this. the rockies win, >> still to come on espnews, red sox, rangers and rays all reaching for that a.l. wild card spot. who lost ground in the race on wednesday night. plus, allegations threaten to rock the memphis basketball program. what punishment the ncaa has in mind.

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>> i'm eric karabell talking fantasy football. you might have heard, brett favre's a minnesota viking. let's discuss this for fantasy value. if you had any doubts about who

the number one overall pick was, there are no doubts now, adrian peterson is going to go up. i think he makes a run of 2,000 yard if you were thinking of michael turner or m.j.d. number one, forget about it, adrian peterson is number one, the big leader is bernard berrian, he led the nfl in yards per catch at 20 yards per catch, good considering the quarterbacks he's had, we're projecting him at well over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns and i think he's going to do better than that, i remember a few years ago greg jennings emerged as a big guy in brett favre's final year at green bay, i think bernard berrian could do that and he's not going in the top 20 in wide receivers now. he should be. he's a big sleeper for the middle round. favre, by the way, don't think he's not in my top 20, i think he's in the 15-18 range, last year his mess happened when his arm got hurt. he's healthy now. i'm eric karabell. check out our free draft kit at espn.com.

>> next on espnews. the top of the american league wild card is air tight between the red sox, rangers and rays. who was able to get a little more breathing room on wednesday night. also ahead, pitcher and future hall of famer john smoltz has a new home in st. louis. why that means he may have a new role as well with the cardinals. we'll tell you what it is. and brett favre continues to settle into his new digs. why he hasn't won over everyone linked to the vikings. espnews starts now. ♪ ♪

>> ah, yes, we are making television this half-hour. helping you stay current with all the latest news, scores and highlights, will selva alongside j.w. stewart. they're the men with the golden guns. that wouldn't be us. seven of wednesday's starting pitchers have an e.r.a. below 3.00 this season. >> jeremy bond-erman not one of them. >> nice work out of you. neither is dr. no. >> well played. but doc halladay is. these highlights are for your eyes only. roy halladay going for his 14th win as the red sox going for the wild card lead, jason bay hits the living daylights out of that one. >> timothy dalton. >> shaken and stirred. bottom sixth, bases loaded, clay buchholz gets edwin encarnacion

to fly out, encarnacion 0-4, batting .190 -- "stupid bat" -- buchholz six innings, one earned, four k's, red sox win 6-1, clay buchholz is 2-0 against the jays this year, 0-3 against everyone else. david ortiz hit his sixth career home run off halladay, most he's hit off any pitcher and the most halladay's allowed to any batter. >> the rangers were tied with boston for the a.l. wild card, so they couldn't afford a loss. pudge rodriguez went 3-4 with an r.b.i. top sixth tied at 4-4. orlando cabrera lining one into center. marlon byrd comes up throwing, denard span beats the throw at home as pudge drops it. entering this game, joe mauer was hitting .383, the top of the ninth he saw his 15-game hitting streak come to an end. the twins end up taking it 5-4. texas is now one game back of boston in the a.l. wild card.

kevin millwood 5 2/3 innings pitched, seven hits, five runs, he falls to 0-7 in 11 career starts vs. the twins. rays began the night three out in the wild card, b.j. upton a double shy of the cycle on tuesday, homers again on wednesday. that's his ninth of the year. matching last year's total and the rays take it 3-1. jeff niemann has 11 wins, most among rookies. since losing five in a row, the rays have won four straight. wild card standings look like this. boston leads texas by one game. by the way, the rangers open a three-game series at the trop beginning friday. >> a's and yankees. before the game, mark teixeira chatting it up with reggie jackson. whatever reggie told him, tex certainly took it to heart -- top four, yankees up 1-0, do the voodoo that you do so well, ninth three-r.b.i. game this season for teixeira, most on the yankees. bottom eighth, two men on,

oakland down one. phil hughes gets tommy everett to ground to a-rod who steps on third then throws over to first for the out, yankees work out of a jam. bottom nine, mo rivera time, gets mark ellis to fly out. rivera's 36th save of the year. yankees win 3-2. they're 25-8 since the all-star break. that is best in major league baseball. meanwhile, oakland is now 2-11 in their last 13 games vs. the bronx bombers. >> it didn't work out with the red sox. so john smoltz will try his luck with the redbirds. released by boston, the 42-year-old signed with the n.l. central-leading cardinals on wednesday. for now, the future hall of famer will be the cardinals' fifth starter but he could be moved to the bullpen. going back to the national league may be just what smoltzy needs. >> he had some tough numbers. i had a couple guys that i know in boston, they said the arm's got good life. you don't just walk back in after being out and have an e.r.a. in the 2.00's, i think he

needs some work and i know he's anxious to have dunc take a look at him, he knows a lot about himself and there are a lot of pluses here so i think it's just good for both of us. >> he will join us tomorrow? >> be in uniform tomorrow, starts sunday. >> smoltz won nearly 60% of his games with the braves and opponents batted a meager .235 against him. in eight starts with the red sox he had an e.r.a. above 8.00. john kruk on how this helps the cards in the stretch run. >> the signing of john smoltz with the st. louis cardinals to me gives st. louis the advantage going into the division. we know he was a dominant closer, we know he was a dominant starter in his days in atlanta, it didn't work out in boston, and why? one is because he wasn't ready to pitch. two, the division he was pitching in, the american league east, is the best offensive division on the planet. to ask john smoltz to be at his advanced age coming off injury

and say, "let's go get these guys out," to me was the wrong move for the red sox. i think wast. louis is getting is a guy who can be very versatile, he can be a fifth starter, he can also be a setup man for ryan franklin and i think when you see the work he's going to do with dave duncan, the best pitching coach in baseball now with the st. louis >> cardinals and dodgers, dodgers down one, casey blake clears them all -- wainwright seven innings pitched, four hits, two earned runs, dodgers tie it at 2-2. top nine, albert pujols on first, throw gets away and pujols advances to third on the error. mujs would score on a sac fly that made it 3-2 cardinals. james loney flies out to left and that's it -- cards end up

winning it 3-2. they're now 10-2 in their last 12 games, clayton kershaw 3 2/3, two earned runs, he's winless in his last six starts. earlier in the day it was >> cliff lee 3-0 for the n.l. east-leading phillies, going back to his time in cleveland he's won six straight starts. in the fifth, he gets rusty ryal. lee with five k's through five innings. bottom five. ryan howard off dan haren. three-run home run. his 31st. he's got five home runs in his last six games. cliff lee went the distance, two-hitter, struck out 11, phillies win 8-1, cliff lee 4-0 since joining the phils with two complete games, mark reynolds with the fourth golden sombrerro of his career, 0 -- golden

sombrero of his career, 0-4 with four k's. we've seen this before. >> we have major news out of college basketball. several sources tell espn.com that the committee on infractions will release its findings regarding memphis thursday morning. the word "vacate" is included in the report. in may the ncaa accused memphis of several major infractions stemming from its 2007-2008 season including a fraudulent s.a.t. score by a player later to be revealed as derrick rose and more than $2,000 of free travel for rose's brother, reggie. espn.com's dana o'neil broke the story and tells us what will happen to memphis. >> the original thinking was, from what i'm understanding, at least, it doesn't seem like there will be surprises in this finding from what i'm aware of they'll vacate the 2007-2008

final-four run, 38 wins that involved derrick rose going to the final four, from what i'm understanding as of right now, this is all sourced, obviously, is that the university of memphis current team will not be punished, there won't be any loss of scholarships or anything like that going forward for them so it's basically vacating the season where the infractions occurred. >> the tigers were 38-2 in 2007-2008. >> will and i just getting warmed up. coming up on espnews, more baseball for you. justin verlander leads the a.l. in strikeouts so he takes matters into his own hands. why he could have used some help, on wednesday. also ahead, the angels with a baseball oddity. why it took 79 years to see it. plus, brett favre is getting

criticism from an unlikely place. why his most vocal critic is someone associated with the vikings. oh no, t.o., what's keeping him on the sidelines and when he might be back in action.

man: hip, hip! jorge! jorge! jorge! jorge! ma#2: hip, hip! jorge! jorge! jorge! jorge! man #3: hip, hip! jorge! jorge! jorge! jorge! >> wednesday was brett favre's first full day of practice with the vikings. favre, who will start friday's game against the chiefs, said, "i haven't been the best player, but i would love to think that every player i played with would love to have me in the foxhole." almost all of his new teammates

agree. >> that's not my job, but whoever they bring in, we know they bring in for a purpose, to help our team win games. he's a teammate and i welcome him with open arms. >> he's a different breed, michael jordan and brett favre can do little things that other people can't do. they've proven themselves in this league. a little bit more exceptions are made for them than other people. >> there is a lot of respect for a player like that, to be on the same field with him, taking snaps for you and possibly having the opportunity to catch the ball, a lot of respect. >> this wasn't what i was hoping for but that's the situation that we're in, so i'm going to stay ready, stay prepared and keep working and you never know what's going to happen and try to make the most of the situation of where i'm at. >> let's be honest. the guy's been doing this a long time at a very high level. if we're all sitting in miami waiting to go to the super bowl, does anybody care he came here

in july? >> fran tarkenton will always be associated with the minnesota vikings but many people forget the hall of famer played five seasons with the new york giants during the middle of his career. when tarkenton came back to minnesota, he led the vikings to three super bowls. they haven't been back since they lost super bowl xi. enter brett favre, who is trying to do what tarkenton could not -- bring the vikings a super bowl title and tarkenton is upset with how it all went down. >> disrespected his team. the green bay packers provided him with stability, players, coaches, a great, historic organization for 16 years. he tells them, "i'm retired." they go down to mississippi, he says "i'm retired." they get their team set with aaron brooks. at the last-minute he says, like he does now, "i want to come back." you know what they decided to do? they said no. they said, "if you come back you've got to compete." he didn't want to do that. he had already been talking to

minnesota to try to manipulate that. that's disrespect for his team. goes to new york. do you see the new york jets try to get him to come back? played there for a year. they did not tried to sign him to come back. neither did the green bay packers. i think that if he wants to play, go play, but don't play games. >> favre turns 40 in october. not many quarterbacks have lasted into their 40's. with a good year, favre could beat the numbers of warren moon, len dawson and sonny jurgenson did in their golden age. >> no t.o. this weekend -- the bills prize acquisition with an injured toe injured in the hall of fame game. dick jauron says owens will be back on the field next week. he's missed five of six practices and a preseason game. >> nascar champion jimmie johnson and his number 48 car were at the white house. joining j.j. were other sprint cup drivers and past champions. president obama said

"fortunately we got jimmy to agree not to do any burnouts and tear up our backyard." obama joined our "nascar now" crew. >> you're excellent, mr. president, at filling out your college basketball bracket. you picked the tar heels to win the championship. >> i did, i'm sorry. >> what about the chase championship? did you fill out that bracket? >> first of all, it's a little early. we've got to see more information before we make a final determination but when you have champions like jimmie johnson, jeff gordon, tony stewart, just a lot of folks who are capable of winning at any given time, so i'm not going to pretend like i can pick it but maybe, you know, when we get right there down to the end, i'll go ahead and take the plunge. >> the nascar sprint cup series is at bristol saturday night.

>> the term murderers' row became eternally associated with the core of the 1927 yankees hitting lineup that included babe ruth and lou gehrig. the 2009 angels, or at least tuesday's version of them will be known as hitters' heaven. the entire lineup has .300 hitters. you have to go back to 1930 and the new york giants and the st. louis cardinals to find such a lineup. howie kendrick was one of two angels in the lineup wednesday night that was not hitting .300 and he's the one that came up with the big hit vs. the trine. top five. no score. grounding one up the middle. kendry morales, mike napoli scores, napoli batting .298, slacker, jered weaver recording his second career shutout, the eighth shutout for the halos this season -- the l.a.-a improve to 24-16 since june

12th. >> mariners and the a.l. central-leading tigers. justin verlander going for his 14th win. didn't get any offensive support. in the fifth, he served it up to ichiro -- two-run home run. his eighth. the mariners take it 3-1. ian snell wins for the first time with seattle. only the second time verlander has lost at home this year. justin verlander leads the american league with 204 strikeouts. he racked up his sixth double-digit strikeout game of the season. he became the third tigers pitcher to have a 200-strikeout season in the last 35 years. he joins jack morris and jeremy bonderman. still to come on espnews, the n.l. wild card race. as the giants chase the rockies, why they should also be looking over their shoulder. and marcellus wiley tells us why tony romo and the cowboys should be careful what they wish for.

possibility according to the sources. the cowboys finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs in the last sunday of the season. they'll have a new look. gone are terrell owens, jones, and williams.

marcellus on the big esgest iss >> the biggest problem is going to be at the wide receiver program. yeah, you get rid of terrell owens and his drama, but you got rid of touchdowns and production, and how are you going to replace that? roy williams stumbled out the blocks and didn't make much of an impact. crayton is better suited at a number thr @@ @@ @@ our program.

this will be prose -- posted within 24-hours. matt mayer is a visiting fellow from homeland security projects. he is an adjunct professor at ohio state university. he is author of a book. he was a 2007 lincoln fellow with the claremont institute and a 2003 marshall fellow with the german-marshall fund of the guide states. he previously served as a senior official at the department of homeland security. prior to coming to washington, he served in the administration of colorado governor bill owens. he received his bachelor's degree from university of dayton and are his law degree from the ohio state university college of law. matt? >> thank you. welcome to the heritage foundation for another one of our speeches in the homeland

security in the state project. the topic that we will talk about today is one of the critically important topics. this is the importance of a state-led with disaster response. we are currently in this that began back in 1993 when we went from about 43 declarations out of the agency per year in 1980- 1992 where redoubled it from 1993-2001 to '89 declarations per year and back that increase more under the bush administration to 130 declarations' per year. the obama administration is currently on pace to have about 134 declarations this year which would make that the sixth highest number of declarations within one year since 1953. if you reflect for a moment in terms of what has happened this year, most of us cannot recall

many disasters occurring. the country has not had any hurricanes yet. we have one building in the atlantic in the last 24 hours. we have not had any major earthquakes. . i have case studies and ohio is one of the case studies because i call it an honest approach to emergencies. they do a fantastic job to centralize to the local level to make sure that everyone from the individual to the state government is really doing their part in fighting off this idea

of federalization. as the director at the management agency, and nancy mandates natural disasters pitch she administers the condi and program and overseas disaster recovery in mitigation efforts. she has been the director since january 2005. she is in her fourth year of stewardship and doing a fantastic job. in the fall of 2008, sheik -- c accepted her elected seats -- she accepted her elected seat. she has taken our role and done a very good job in trying to spark the conversation of roles and responsibilities of the state and federal lubber -- letvel.

nancy served as the director of operations where she was responsible for emergency preparedness training, exercises, planning, training, and prepared miscreance in the state's emergency operation centers during disasters. she retired from the national -- of ohio national guard. thank you for that service to the country. it is really amazing that he spent 22 years. -- that you spent 22 years. she graduated summa cum laude. it is my pleasure to have you speak about this very important issue estate led disaster response. [applause] >> it is my pleasure to be here. it is a pleasure to talk about

this particular issue because it is something that we struggle with in the emergency management community. it is certain -- certainly something we struggle with as a nation. this is balanced by the effects of the glut and in ohio and nowhere near the magnitude of the petrina or click on the west coast. as i was thinking about what i wanted to say today, i reminded myself that ultimately the emergency management community has three priorities. there are pretty basic. we sometimes get lost in the mining and cleaning and other issues that our priorities are pretty basic. the first priority is to protect property. to try to the best of our ability to protect the properties that are citizens own, that they live on, at that they rely on by sending their children to school and said

expecting police and fire departments to respond. -- and expecting police and fire departments to respond. the second is to minimize the impact when the disaster does occur. whether it is a man-made disaster, a nuclear power plant at the end, a flood, a fire, a tornado, a hurricane, the goal is to minimize the impact when it does come. finally and most importantly, the ultimate goal is to save lives. whether we do it in and minimizing the, a protection of comic invention note, the goal is to save lives and protect property. we do that in emergency management with what we do use -- with what we used to call court cases. -- core phases. we plan and execute and prepared to respond. then we respond when needed. recall at the national guard when it is appropriate, we call at the department of national

resources, we bring in epa. we work in support of local authorities in emergencies but at the state level we prepared to respond and then respond when necessary. if further necessary, we reach back to our at copartners and they assist us in the response of a disaster. once a disaster response is over, we recover. we bring in federal dollars right now that help us recover damaged infrastructure and help people replace the losses that they have had as a result of the disaster said that they can begin important points, they can begin the personal road to recovery. either the -- neither the federal or state government have to resources to make anyone whole. it is to help people on the path to recover. we mitigate.

the simplest way for me to illustrate mitigation is we move people at of the flood plain, we tried to minimize the risk, minimize the damage when the inevitable a curse that mitigating. finally, the fifth in the newest is prevent. some would say prevented mitigate are the same. i do not agree. prevention is a separate activity. we are used to dealing with prevention in the terrorism realm, but preventing can also extend beyond terrorism into natural hazards. it is biggest in mitigation. it is different and mitigation. -- it is bigger than mitigation. so once we understand the court faces, i would suggest we need to -- so once we understand the four phases, i would need to --

i would say we need to a riot at a common understanding. what is risk? of what is risk in a higher versus risk in california vs. risk in florida? i had someone say it is risk from what to what? in ohio we are not at risk from a hurricane, although we did have the driver working last summer. it is really just a big wind event. we are not at risk from hurricanes. we are at risk from tornadoes and floods, potentially a residual risk of the new matter for it -- new mavericks' faults. other states do not have that risk. they may have a different risk. one of the most important factors as we develop capability is understanding what the risk

is in that jurisdiction. because the risk in columbus is not the same as the risk in southern ohio. they have a different risk. they have a bigger risks sometimes in southern ohio from flooding along the river. today we have spread the risk of evenly, and we have planned for the risk evenly. not only does that cause problems with sustainability, it causes a problem with the teeth. -- it causes problems with fatigue. once we understand our risk, from what, to what, we need to understand what actions we want to occur as we develop the capability. who do we want to do what? and what role do we want fire to play? what role do we want police to

play? what role do we want emergency management to play? what role do we want the public to play, and what actions of the public and all of those other organizations take? i talked about roles, and i think that has been a challenge for us quite frankly. what role should the federal government play in emergency response? is it the federal government's responsibility to come to a high yield when we have 10 homes that have significant impact? i can tell you that if it were my home, i would probably say yes, but as a steward of government resources at the state level and hopefully a steward when i need to be in partnership with my several partners at the federal level, that is not realistic. it is not defensible, it is nonrefundable. -- it is not fundable.

i am going to keep coming back to the role of the individual, because that is really where it all starts. i am going to talk about required resources. once we have identified what we want to build into does and what their risk is, what kind of resources are we willing to levy against that risk? what kind of resources are our elected officials will lead to levy against that risk? there are very few states, i guess there are couple, better still in the black, but i will tell you that ohio is not one of them. we have had to make very difficult decisions about what resources we are willing to continue to fund, and what products we're willing to fund and what projects where to put on the back burner until the funding rebounds and zero high- yield.

-- until the funding rebounds in @@@@rr a capability to respond to something that we would expect an urban area to respond to? is it realistic to expect ohio to develop the same capability to evacuate ohio that we may expect florida to develop? probably not. quite frankly, i will tell you that it is not defensible. it is not sustainable, because

we still have the other risks that are going to happen that we have to plan and prepare for an ohio. i think understanding the required resources to dedicate, to devote to meeting that risk in planning for that risk is something that we struggled with. it is something we do not get, i do not think, have to come to grips with as an organization, as a profession, as a nation. finally, ultimately, what is the outcome? what is the big outcome? is the outcome that ohio has the capability to and evacuate the entire 11.5 million people to indiana? probably not. i am sure indiana and not be happy if we did that. we could go to michigan. that would probably cause all right. i am serious. i am joking a little bit, but i am serious because sometimes we forget what the outcome is. all of those points have to be factored into the outcome.

is it realistic? is a defensible? is a sustainable? is it based on risk for that jurisdiction. that drives with the outcome, i believe, is. you cannot lose sight of the other factors because quite frankly to will build a house of cards. the house will crumble when the resources fall away underneath it. i want to talk for the next 15 minutes or so and then take questions. once we have done this and identified the risk and derived and a mutual understanding, we have talked about what actions people need to take and at what levels, we have talked about the resources that are required to sustain the actions, ultimately lead to the outcome we're hoping for a, then we need to talk about how do we build that? had to rebuild that capability? - how do we rebuild that

capability? i want to go back to risk. because risk today and the identification of risk has been one of the biggest challenges we face. i will tell you from my perspective that building, and i will say this at the risk of some friends in the audience to probably do not disagree me, developing plans based on scenarios may not be the most effective way to build capability. because at some level a flood is a glut is a flood. -- a flood is a flood is a flood. a building collapse will cause the need for specific capabilities, but having the

building collapse because of tha faulty structure or a deliberate act of terrorism may not be as critical to building the capability as having the ability to do search and rescue. when we look at building capability, rather than look at scenarios, we look at impact. we look at a building collapse and the ability to go in and to search and rescue. we look at swift water rescue. the ability to pull people off of risoofs whether it is called- no matter what it is caused from. i am concerned when we begin to build some areas that we lose sight of the overall capabilities that we're looking to build. i would suggest again that perhaps building capabilities based on an impact may be a

stronger foundation than building to 15 separate scenarios that have competing and have intersecting impacts. pricin realistic guidance is a challenge we face. -- i think building a realistic guidance is a challenge we face. the challenge needs to be clear and realistic. it needs to be understandable. it needs to be measurable. we have struggled with that. when i say we, i am not saying the federal government alone, because it is not just a federal solution and just a federal responsibility. i think we at all levels of this problem, and we need to build better, easier to understand guidance that is targeted to the outcome that we want the individual roles to play. the guidance that comes down to the state probably does not need

to be the same detail as the local level. depending on the event and the capability, the guidance may not be the same level of detail. i, on the other hand, do not need to know how to fight a fire here. i do not need to know how to publish a boat to do swift water rescue. i do not want to know how to fly a helicopter, so the guy did spiffy is to be specific and tartabull and actionable depending on who needs to perform the action. -- so the guidance needs to be specific and targetable and actionable depending on who needs to reform the action. right now we are facing tremendous deficits across the nation. we need police officers and fire departments active every day.

we know we're going to have crime in five years. we need schools to educate our children. we need to continue to make sure that our infrastructure is as sound as its impossibly be. all of those things are competing with disastrous response and emergency management. what we need theives -- what we build needs to be sustainable at all levels. at the same point, the requirements that the federal partners levy on state and local governments need to be sustainable and there needs to be a recognition on the part of our federal partners that there is a cost to sustain them. i can buy a fire truck for a local jurisdiction. i can buy a boat for a local jurisdiction all with the many of my federal partners. can the gas it, can the polio and it?

-- can they put oil into it? we need to look at the entire picture, not just a piece of the picture. >i am talking about measurement. how do we measure capability? what does that look like? is a sustainable. we have a lot of different measurement tools out there. all of them challenging. all of them tend to measure things and not true capability. i am here to tell you i did not know how to do that, but i know that we are measuring rhino is not necessarily capability. i do know that that is something that fema is actively involved in with new leadership. it is a tough issue. it is difficult to measure something that is inherently subjective until the hurricane comes.

and then you find out whether you plan, train, and all the right stuff. -- then you find out whether you plan tned, trained, and bought the right stuff. public accountability. in the 14, 15 years i have been in the emergency management career field, i have seen a shift from personal responsibility to personal expectation. from the when the hurricane winds begin to blow, clean out your bathtub and fill it with water so you have drinking water, to win the hurricane threatens and the winds began to blow, find out where fema will deliver food and water.

we cannot survive that. as a country we cannot survive that. we have to begin to remind ourselves as the people of personal accountability. it is my responsibility to take care of myself, my family my dog, my cat, my mom who lives down the street, and the lady that lives next door. i believe that is my responsibility. i believe it is your responsibility. maybe not the cat, the doll, and grandma. it is your responsibility. we have lost that as a culture. we have become a culture of entitlement. within hours of an event, the question is where is bema? where is my check? where is my water, food, and ice? it is not sustainable. it is not defensible.

i think we need to change the culture. i think we need to go back to a message of personal prepared and is an expectation that to the extent possible, people take the time, the energy, the money to prepare themselves and their family so that they do not have to wait on fee much to come in on their white charger and fix the day. -- so they do not have to wait on fema to save the day. i want to talk about honesty. i think that we need to be honest and transparent at the elected official level about what is sustainable and appropriate. that is not easy. i will tell you if we have clear guidance, if we have clear measurement, if we have clear tools, and we are honest and transparent about it, it

actually works. i will tell you a quick story on why i feel that way. in ohio in 2005 in january, we were going through the largest white-bread disaster that we had gone through since the blizzard of 1978. we had two thirds of our state declared a state of emergency. i took over as a director at the emergency management in the middle of that event. we had the ceremony passing of the blackberry at 11:00 that night. i became the director. that disaster just grew like molasses, like a paddle a pudding. we picked a counties here. we picked up counties there. we ended up picking counties that had two or three homes with

minimal impact because it just grew. there was not a good sense to say does this make sense? if someone came in with a declaration, then we just added them to the federal declaration. i walked out of that that spring and said we will never do that again as long as i am director. we created guidance. i said what is clear? what is realistic? what is on this? we used a small business administration agency only decoration guidance, which very simply is 25 homes or businesses with more than 40% loss. now i will tell you, 40% loss is more than you think. that is about 12 inches of water on the first floor of the flat home. 6 inches of water does not get

it. it has to cover the outlets. we have had disasters where people came to us and said we have 60 homes, 12 inches of water on the first floor. did not cover the outlets. they were minor. again, i am absolutely not discounting the impact on those individuals. if it were my house, that is significant, but there is a level, a measure of personal responsibility. we created this guidance that said 25 homes or businesses, more than 40% uninsured loss before we will ask not only for and declaration, but if we have a federal declaration and we want to ask it to be extended to pick up counties, those counties that will be added have to meet the 25 homes or businesses. we will not have another

disaster where we have accounted declared ford to homes with minor damage. @@@@ to adhere to it. are there exceptions? of course. we have not had one yet, but i fully anticipate we will. if we have a county that has significant win damage and on the other side of the street is another county that may be only had 10 homes destroyed because of a tornado, i will probably look at the county that is adjacent, because at that point that is the right thing to do.

there is enough room in there that we can expand if we need to, but the guidance is clear. we had -- now they will come to us and say we had 17 homes with major damage. they know what the criteria is and they will ask for a federal disaster declaration. they do not ask for state disaster declaration because they understand with the criteria is. i fully believe if we develop clear criteria, we adhere to it, we are honest about it, we are transparent with the criteria, the people will understand that. it is not always easy. but i think it is the right thing to do. that is what we've done in a hot meal. i certainly could not talk about building capabilities if i did not talk a little bit about funding. -- that is what we have done in

ohio. that is the challenge and response to any disaster. the reality is most of the united states has what i would call recovery disasters, and they are not easy to get. they should not be easy to get. in a high of population is 5.5 million. i think we need to meet the per- capita when we come to be enough for a declaration. -- when we come to fema for a declaration. we do not have these declarations very often in ohio. in my history in 14 years and

lots of disasters, we have never really had that need. there needs to be a mechanism for a way to recognize and to allow fema to focus on preparing for the truly catastrophic disasters, hurricanes, the west coast earthquake, preparing for the truly catastrophic disaster is at the same time providing a mechanism for states and locals to recover from the disasters that the rest of us have. i am not willing to say it is just the states' responsibilities, because the states do not have the funding to do that. we do have an expectation that when a disaster is large enough to warrant, there will be funding available, but i do think we need to create a mechanism to relieve the burden from fema of having to respond

to the smaller disasters and create the capability at the state level to do that on their behalf. whether it is 8 block program or another funding mechanism, i think that would relieve fema of a tremendous amount of pressure from responding to the disasters that do not need the full force of our federal partners. the challenge in that is there has to be a mechanism at the state to be able to deliver the resources. my recovery program, probably not a lot difference for most states, -- probably not a lot different for most states, has seven people. those people administered millions and millions of dollars to local government. they work with fema to

administer grants to people that have been impacted. if the states assume the responsibility, then there has to be the recognition that they need to develop the capability of doing on behalf of fema. it is doable. i think creating this is doable, creating a path to relieve the administrative burden on fema is doable and it is something as a nation that we need to explore. ultimately, if i go back to the goals and i go back to the responsibilities, if i end on any note, i want to end on the nos of personal accountability and responsibility because i truly do not believe the more

we push the responsibility to somebody else, the worst are -- the worse off we are as a nation. and it is far faster, far more effective, far less costly to drive the ability to respond to the capability, to act down to the lowest level possible. with that, i would be happy to take questions. [applause]

>> i am from the congressional quarterly. i have a question for you. it goes along with what you were saying, and earlier this year at a conference secretary of peloton nil -- napolitano talk about the public perception. she said that fema is not a first responder, but she said the common misconception is that in an emergency fema is supposed to be there first. you talk about that. if i was wondering if -- she also said that should locals be unable to handle the emergency, then the state comes into handle the emergency. do you think it is important to change the public perception of fema?

>> absolutely. i think she's right on target. some of that goes back to recognizing the roles and responsibilities and the importance of building the capability at the local and state level so that when fema comes in as a responder, they are coming in all ways in support of state and local. i think between 9/11 end petriand katrina the pendulum shifted. that they would be there within hours. >> just to be clear, you agree that fema is not the first responder? >> i agree. >> thank you.

>> corrine a rowlands at the heritage foundation. -- carina rawlands. i am so glad to hear you talk about personal responsibility. when it comes to disaster preparedness, i am wondering if you could talk about -- i do not know if there is anything to could said that if you could adjust the aspect that of the one hand people do not want to do anything for themselves and expect the government to step in immediately, and on the other hand it act like @ -- nothing ever will happen, especially when it comes to terrorism preparedness. if you go out of your way to prepare, they act like you are paranoid. i remember in 2004 when tom ridge talk about the possibility of biological effects -- attacks to go on by the duct

tape and plastic sheeting. i am the only person that i know who went out and bought the duct tape and plastic sheeting. "bottled water at home. i have cat food and first aid kit. ieveryone thinks i am slightly wacky for being prepared. how do we get people out of this idea of being crazy if you have this debt to be prepared? -- how do you people to understand that you are not crazy if you are prepared? >> the risk here in washington, d.c., is much higher than it is going to be in columbus where i am from, or perhaps other northern ohio where it is moral in nature. -- rural in nature. anyone who lives around the chemical facility, i almost

guarantee has that's taped and plastic sheeting because they have been trained on what to do if something would happen at the chemical facility. the challenge is identifying risk in such a way where people feel they can act on it. and what they are acting on is appropriate. it has been so squishy to date and the risk has been described across the united states and that has caused people to either -- i am not saying that you did it at all -- sometimes overreact and get very fearful or more often they underreact and get fatigued by it all. we have turned it -- we have heard it too often so the disregard of the messages. >i am glad that you got your dat

tape and plastic. >> homeland security today. i am wondering if you might elaborate on the block grant concept. >> i do not really know practically how what would work. i think that part of my point is if we have an event in ohio that meets the threshold for a federal disaster declaration, cienbehalffemafema brings in a s resources and spend an enormous amount of money to assess the damage and provide funding to the local government to recruit -- recoup the cost. that suggests to me that it is something a state could probably do with the right resources. if there is a way to eliminate the joint field office

environment that requires fema to bring in 100 people to manage the grants and shift that responsibility in a defined and are visible way -- and au ditable way to states. that at the end of the day when the inspector general comes and we all agreed that funds were used appropriately and relieve the burden from fema from having to come in and set up this very large, elaborate joint field offices. does that answer your question? i wish i had the plan, because if i did i would take it to fema. >> i am jim gilmore. the former chairman of the

advisory panel on homeland security. we were established in 1999, and a and we are the originators of the ideas that national -- natural disasters in terrorist attacks should be responded to by local responders first. i think we originated those ideas. largely it was because of a fear that if this became exclusively a federal first responsibility that inevitably in a major catastrophe we would end up with the military intervened and controlling. our concept was more of the local responders. then i am going to ask you how we change some of these perceptions. let me point out where we got to predict how we got to where we are. there is a fundamental belief that it is a federal responsibility on almost any disaster. mark we have seen that it

region we have seen the -- we ha@@@" orleans the basically absolves and sell any responsibility and said where is the federal government and president? if you're going to change all of this, the question is how would you suggest that we begin to change the perception of the american people because today any president that not take complete charge immediately and poor federal taxpayer money into

it, overwhelmingly is headed for the same fate that george w. bush had. how do we change this? >> well, sir, i have read your report but the wet. -- by teh way. -- by tehe way. what i would suggest is probably not realistic, but i think that is the right thing to do. that is up to all politicians to own the responsibility and be honest about the responsibility. that is probably not realistic, and i understand that. i do not know how we will ever change that perception without someone at -- florida did it. the florida government didn't predict the florida governor did it. -- the sort of governor did it.

-- the florida governor did it. that is the kind of honesty and transparency we need to strive for. in reality, with our political system that may not be something that can ever occur, but i think it needs to. i think we're doing our citizens a disservice by doing anything else. deegan there is a task force meeting on the homeland security advisory and i would be interested about your thoughts about changes. one of the other things is prepared this for small and medium businesses. are a large portion of our economy is small and medium businesses. when a disaster strikes and they are the most vulnerable. any advice on changes in that

system? any advice to you on how to be engaged with small and medium businesses and working on disaster preparedness? >> i will start with the easy one first, a color-coded system. if we're going to have a color coded system, we need to recognize that yellow is a new green. we are now at a heightened state, it and we were on september 10, 2001, and we need to recognize that. if we're never gone to bat to blue and green, why are they there? -- if we're never going to go back to blue and green, why are they there? we need to start over. i think probably very similar to what most of the people that

have impacted on the color-coded system would say, we need to get rid of green and blue or recognize that we have new greens and blues. it needs to be targeted and actionable. when we go to orange, what does that mean? i like to use my mom as my measure, because she knows just enough from listening to me to understand some of the issues, but perhaps not enough to know everything i know, certainly. so when my mom says i am not orange, do i need to fight the tape and plastic sheeting or worry are at orange what do i need to do? -- or we are at orange, what do i need to do? there needs to some action beyond the more vigilant because it does not really sound actionable. ithat is probably my answer on

the color-coded system. the second question, can you remind me? small and medium-sized businesses. that is a huge issue. right now the only thing available is through the small business administration. it is a loan, not a grant. every disaster we have that has sickness' -- that has a significant impact on small businesses, how you recover a business, you end up with a chicken and egg kind of thing. i will say that one of the things i have been excited about which the new administrator of fema and the direction he has gone, we need to figure out in disaster recovery mode how we as business

and we did we as government can help businesses reopen so they can help the community recover. he has a wonderful story that i really took to heart of outstanding in the walmart parking lot in delivering ice, food, and water to people in the walmart parking lot while behind him stood the building and the business that could sell the ice, food, and water. i think we need to shift the way we look at business in order for that to happen. we need to stop as a government asking what can you do for us? what can you sell s? what can you bring to us and instead say what can we do for you to help you do what you do and provide your resources to the citizens? >> if i could build on the

political aspect. you in ohio had to change the political calculus there in order to implement your risk management methodology on homes, and you commented that you expected political backlash, but you did not seem to have any. is there something to learn their from your perspective on how your state shifted that dynamic, and do we need to go about this on a state-by-state basis? the national approach -- i agree entirely, it is too hard a row. we can have the national risk- management conversation because we would never have a consensus on that. what did you learn from your shifting of the paradigm in what might other states learned from that? >> i will go back to clear and

consistent guidance. we actually have a primer that we developed with pictures that says if the water is this high, it is minor. it is this high it is major. if it is that high, it is destroyed. we did it to the governor's office and new governor when he came in. what it did is created a very clear measuring tool, and in fact, i used the example with the community with the 60 homes, their director recognize, as difficult as it was for him for him to tell his citizens they did not meet the guidelines, he knew what they were. he understood it in was able to convey it. public assistance is a fairly easy criteria for us to be at the state level. it is a very clear criteria.

i know that in order for a high of to get public assistance declaration -- ohio to get public assistance declaration, we need to get 14 million. if we get close, we certainly may ask for a declaration, but it is a very clear criteria. if it is clear and understandable inconsistent,-- and consistent, then i think people are far more willing to accept that then if it is very subjective and it does not make sense. i will also tell you i have had

to revisit that several times when we have had smaller disasters, but so far it is held. -- it has held. >> piggybacking on the last question, the fema administration has expressed reviewing the national disaster plan. >> part of the challenged with individual assistance disaster declaration tends to be very vague guidance. i think as we go back to the 25 homes or businesses with more than 40% loss, that is a requirement. it is very clear in. you either have it or you do not. part of the challenge with the fema disaster declaration is it

is not as clear. any time it is not very clear, you have so much subjectivity that what i would not ask for an ohio, is maybe something another state would ask for. what happens at my level is perhaps we have a tornado. tornadoes are covered by insurance. it will make a huge impact on the national news, but most people have when coverage on their homes if they have any kind of mortgage at all. we had a tornado that met the criteria. 90% insurance coverage. they did not meet the criteria. we did not ask for a declaration. another state, another large community had a very similar tornado, ask for a declaration in fact got it under the same condition.

this was years ago. the challenge that creates is my political officials are looking and asking why did you not ask? if they got it, how come we did not? i am faced with either doing the right thing and potentially losing my job or doing what i know is the expected thing that may not be the right thing. that is probably the biggest challenge right now is guidance that people understand and that is clear and consistent be applied across the nation. -- consistently applied across the nation. >> ohio has very few decorations in any given year. compared to oklahoma has lots of desperation because of all the

tornadoes declared. lots of taxpayers' dollars going out of all-in to the federal government -- lots of taxpayer dollars going out of ohio and into the federal government. how to deal with a system where as long as the federal government pays, incentivizes the moral hazard issue, there is always lots that happens in oklahoma. there are huge spots in the company that have very little risk, but will pay for year after year with tax dollars. how do you deal with that funding issue? related to that is can you speak

just a second about whether we should move away from grants and into things like cooperative agreements were you get into the elbow aside, which i love, and you can negotiate your outcomes and that the funding getting to those outcomes rather than the annual grant nightmare that i was involved in and you were involved in. >> to address the first issue, i need to be cleared -- clear, i do it in ohio because i think it is the way it should be done. i do not want to address another state and suggests they may not do it correctly. i hate to keep going back to clear and consistent guidance, but that is an issue. i do not care if it is ohio for

oklahoma or nebraska, there is c))ár declaration numbers perhaps. if i look at the data and ohio paying for a disaster in another state, i think if we look at something like a cooperative

agreement or block grants, that may be a way to address that perhaps. i do not necessarily know. i do not know how to get away -- i will tell you that states do not have the funding right now. they do not have the tax base to pay for all of their own disasters. second question was cooperative agreements. i think it is a great idea. we used to be cooperative agreements. it was more of a negotiated here are projects we're going to do this year. fema came in and measured whether we did the projects. it was a negotiated agreement. i think this is one way for us to get to more of an outcome measured or outcome-focus

objective as opposed to here is your money coming tell me what you are going to do with it. spend it as quickly as you can and then we will come back and tell you whether or not he met and the outcomes. -- or not you met any at comes. -- outcomes. >> throughout your talking mention capabilities. i just wanted to get a sense for your thoughts on the development of the target capabilities list and the transition between version 2.0 and 3.0 as well as potential challenges you may have faced with the interchange between the state and localities use of certain capabilities versus the government's use of

esf? >> i am going to take the last part of your question first because it is a fairly simple answer. most they use emergency functions. most states are in line with the national response framework. was that your question? [inaudible] . .

turkic capabilities -- target capabilities or a step forward. they are challenging the use and are challenging to understand. in some cases, although they are an attempt to measure capability against risk, i think we are still probably always to go but we are certainly beginning that process, looking at the risk, tiering the risk based on the type of population and fret that it is, and developing the

property capabilities to respond to that threat. i think they're very difficult to plow through. my eyes tend across unglazed and get lost in the details, but it is a great path forward. we developed tactile -- technical advisory capabilities. we thought they were appropriate in ohio and those advisory committees -- multi disciplined -- they come together and they have -- we created tiers capabilities list. we have one capability statewide but we're building to specific levels based on the population and the threat. we have water rescue and urban search and rescue capabilities. my hot button, sustainability --

and that jurisdiction, once they had of all that capability, sustain that capability without a continuing influx of federal dollars. if we are reliant on federal dollars, they will not be sustained. i believe. >> you talked earlier about the fact that you did not think that's an area-based planning was -- that scenario-based planning was the best way to go with. what would you replace it with? the administration is reviewing its entire system. >> i would continue the planning path that we iran, which is an emergency support functions, looking at impact rather than scenario.

again, and i would suggest that is what target capabilities -- that is where it began and where it is continuing. if we look at what we need to support whatever risk or threat we see, it does not matter -- it does not matter what the scenario is. they are great in a military and firemen and the cold war, we could plan for the cap and look at north korea and plan for north korea. they don't help in a civilian and firemen, particularly one made up of all the diversity of the united states. that is the challenge. if we look at the impact, i think we are developing a stronger plan. >> thank you. >> thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009]

>> relief fantastic comments and questions. thank you for attending and look for our next project speaker that we like that have. we want to get this out of washington in into the hands of the people who need it. thank you.