the n.p.c. softball team. lisa communications. >> john allen, a reporter for congressional quarterly and the shortstop of the n.p.c. softball team. i sense a them. vice president of communications and community relations for the nationals, also a guest of our speaker. >> skipping over the podium just a moment, we have jonathan of bloomberg news, former n.p.c. president, the speaker's committee member who organized today's lunch and coach of the division championship-winning softball team. we have jeff dufour, columnist for the washington examiner. are you a member of the n.p.c. softball team? >> another team. >> and the community relations director for the national. >> paul dixon, author of "the dixon baseball dictionary" and other books. and finally we have amy, an original member of the n.p.c. softball team. [applause] >> of the old washington senators it was often said washington, first in war, first in peace, and last in the american league. substitute nationals for senators, and national league for america

the d.l. of players, and that would be more than nine teams' opening day roster. think about carlos delgado at first base, 38 home runs, over 100 r.b.i.s. 100 on the d.l. in beltran. jose reyes 100 runs scored and david wright is now an average hitter, but he's not driving in as many runs or hitting as many home runs. the run production is down. the mets' lineup as far as their offense may not even qualify for a spring training game to put enough starters in there to actually put a represented club out there for a spring training buying a ticket. they are so hurt and they need help, and they need the play a perfect game on the offensive side of the ball. >> mets' manager jerry manuel says the team is entering a crucial period right now. how do they get out of it with some wins? >> well, the crucial period is they have milwaukee on the road. then you've got the fill -- phillies and then the cincinnati reds and the l.a. dodgers. they have a make-up game against pittsburgh. most of those teams are very, very solid. they're chasing the phillies, so they have to play w

this process building the team enhancing what you've given us as the tools use what we are focused on in the 20 online season. there's tremendous capability built in but construct the oftentimes your work, the committee's work and the legislation's past has addressed and is now our responsibility to make sure we can implement that so as we go through this and build the central partnership's come secretary napolitano as you pointed out i can't say enough great things about after having worked with her and having her serve that role in helping transition as i came on board and now again a very strong regional administrator as part of the fema family. as you pointed out, she brought a lot of common sense approach to address the challenges we face in the recovery and that is a continual commitment that we have. as i, you know, as i serve in this capacity coming from a stage director and working with secretary napolitano, she was a former governor, we very much bring the experience we were once customers of our federal family and the challenges we face in helping our citizens and we contin

the teams are the same. they are working on a player development and scouting and being aggressive in signing talent and waiting until the moment was right to strike a free agent. we made an effort in 1990 to sign a free agent that did not work out well because of an injury. we did not sign our first real free agent until 1993 when we had already been to two world series. we are on course here. we hope to achieve the same success. >> can you give us some advice on what can be done to

everything feels better when the team on the field gets better. until then, we are not going to stop. we are going to continue to do our work. we will keep our customers happy. when this team, which is not very far from being not just competitive, but contending, once they are here, everything else will be in place. i am looking forward to that day because i've learned something in that land that i have used here. when i was in atlanta, the one thing that i learned is that they have invented no new insults. i've been called everything before. so i am being called those things again. i have told this to people in their front office. i told this to our owners. an interesting thing that i remember from 2004 is that espn did a review of all the franchisees. about 120. they had many categories of rankings and one category was owners. how good are the owners? the no. 3 owner that year of the 121 franchises, was the owner of the detroit team. alas, no. 115 out of 121 was the owner of the detroit tigers. what is fascinating to me is that those are the same

the islanders will want to have him on the team, go to training camp. ink with the islanders' situation rebuilding, i think he is a guy that will make the team. he will have a chance to play in the national hockey league this season. >> e.j., what other player in tonight's draft do you think can make an impact right away in the nhl? does anyone come to mind? >> i don't know when you say right away. i think it's a rare guy, mark that, can come in and be a sidney crosby or wayne gretzky, just a phenomenal guy at that young age. and to make an impact. i would say this, i think that the kid who was picked second, hedman, 6'6", the defenseman, tremendous reach, tremendous skating ability as well. in this league, having a defenseman like that that you can play 30 minutes a night is so important. when you look around, they have had accomplished players like hall, shanahan come and go and they're still the top team that competes for a championship year after year. that big reason is lidstrom has been there for them and he is one of the guys that can get the minu

the n.p.c. softball team. [applause] >> of the old washington senators it was often said washington, first in war, first in peace and last in the american league. substitute nationals for senators, and national league for american, and you can describe the situation for our local major league team today and today's speaker. in fact, it is hard to think of anyone that has had a worse season than the washington nationals except for programs the republicans. [laughter] >> they ran off an unpress denied 14 straight division titles. the braves haven't won since he brought his baseball expertise to the nationals. so far, however, success on the ball field has eluded the nation's capital. despite the new stadium, attendance is down, unless you count the red sox fans. so is the nats' won-loss record. by the way, that is the team that mr. kasten rooted for as a kid. when mr. kasten spoke at the club three years ago, he talked about how he was building a club through the farm system. you can look at ryan zimmerman and jo

are you a member of the softball team? okay, disloyal. israel, community relations director for the nationals. paul dixon, author of the dixon baseball dictionary and other books. and finally, we have amy from platts and an original member of the npc softball team. [applause] of the old washington senators it was often said washington, first in war, first in peace and last in the american league. substitute nationals for senators and national league for american and you can describe the situation for our local major league team today, and today speaker. in fact, it is hard to think of anyone that this had a worse season than the washington nationals except for perhaps the republicans. [laughter] today's speaker formerly served as president of the atlanta braves, who ran off in an unprecedented 14th straight division titles. the braves have not won since he brought his baseball expertise to the nationals. so far however, success on the field-- ball field has eluded the nation's capitol despite a new stadium attendance is down unless you cou

he faces the angels, though, a team near the bottom of the majors in walks.harbinger of good things. i think price will throw strikes, pitch into the seventh inning, and he's going to win that game. washington's john lannan's not a sexy fantasy pick, and the fact he's used in only 2% of espn leagues proves it. but his season e.r.a. a usable 3.68, and at home he's unbeaten with a 1.76 e.r.a. guess where he is on thursday -- at home against the reds. doesn't matter. i'm using john lannan. finally there is jamie moyer, who pitched well against the mets in 2007 and 2008, and this isn't exactly a mets offense with all its pieces. moyer has turned the season around with a pair of quality starts last week. time to trust him. especially against the struggling tim redding. like lannan, moyer is available in many leagues. he's also an example why season numbers don't tell the entire story. i'm eric karabell. espn.com. check us out. the best fantasy analysis around, articles, videos, podcasts, chats, do better in your league. >> the dallas stars have fired head coach da

the same guy. mike kawlija led both teams. [laughter] which should be a lesson that i assure you i've kept in mind because it does say about the job we are in. i'm going to turn over to people who want to ask questions. i will be mindful that again and didn't know new insults but if anybody wants to try i'm willing to take your best shot. i'm looking forward to anything you scott. [applause] >> what are the magic ingredients used by the boston red sox and new york and yankees that put them to the top every year? is mauney one of the elements? >> i can talk about this for hours. let me sum up my feeling on this. what do i have, have until 2:00, right? i will tell you from doing this in many sports over many years i have a very strong belief that smart always beats rich. if you're smart. and many examples of this. but when you're smart and rich that is a tough combination. both of those franchises or extremely smart as well as being extremely rich and they are able to parlay that into continuous success. the yankees had a good st

him the 10th pick in the draft and grady sizemorehav >> coming up on espnews, it's not a rivalry if one team keeps winning. so far this year it's been a one-sided affair between the red sox and yankees. new york city is one of the most expensive places to live. why mark sanchez won't have any trouble buying a new home -- or two. and kobe bryant is the best closer in the nba. how he and the lakers have left the door wide open for dwight howard and the magic. captioning by captionmax ♪ >> we are keeping you ♪ ♪ >> we are keeping you current with the latest news, scores and highlights, this is espnews available in high definition, along with j.w. stewart, mike yam with you, and sports fans love streaks but the yankees not a fan of this one. >> yammer, dating back to last year, the red sox have beaten the yankees seven in a row, tied for their second longest win streak against their archrivals. johnny damon says, "hopefully, we'll beat them sometime soon." bottom two, dustin pedroia off chien-ming wang, nick swisher giving chase, but it's into the seats for a ground-rule double. george kotteras

i think that's the best thing about this team. the lockerroom tonight is obviously happier because of the victory, but we understand it's still another must-win game come thursday. >> skip, a lot of people would say it's a different playing home and away. is at it difference? >> you're in your own bed, you can do your own think as opposed to being on the road and hiding because of what we have to do on the road. you don't want to rip and run on the road. you want get your rest, stay off your feet. here least you're in the confines of your own home. one thing about basketball if you can play, you can play. if you can't, you can't. and this league is full of guys who can play. >> back left. >> the first two games how shocking was it you didn't shoot well and was it just a matter of time it broke through for the team? >> it was shocking. we have a team that does shoot well. they were doubling dwight in the staples center both nights and he was making good passes, turkoglu was making good passes, rashard found his rhythm and we still n

compared to some of the other teams in both of the leagues.and that's jeremy, 0-2, he misses the glove. i think that's a product of maybe overthrowing a little bit. the stuff is so good, and to me, 91 to 94 moves more than 96. >> rob: couldn't agree more. >> jim p.: for some guys. >> rob: but you could throw 98 straight down the middle and they'll hit it. but if you throw 91 that moves all over the place. >> bob: mora has it. back to first. and out at first base on the stretch by huff. melvin had a little trouble getting out of his glove and that caused brian roberts to get that throw rushing on its way to huff and they turned it 5-4-3. >> jim p.: going to get caught up in the glove. the high throw, then brian, high throw to a big first baseman aubrey huff who is bordering on 6'4". you can see guzman does a nice job of trying to break it up. being ahead of zimmerman allows him to get him to chase a ball up and in. >> rob: that's his 14th double play that he's grounded into this year. >> bob: that's not a category you aspire to lead your league

the a's with an f. we cannot let this team get up there, the lowest in the american league in batting average. bottom three with rbis, slugging percentage, hit there is no way that this team should win a game again the o's. >> when dallas braids en broke into the -- when dallas braden broke into the big leagues, you know who pitched against him? jeremy guthrie. guthrie was new to the rotation. guthrie went five innings and lost, braden wasn't six innings, one run allowed and he won the game. stay tuned, gary thorn and buck martinez will be there with the play-by-play. it's the orioles in oakland, game 1 of the three-game series. birds trying to get back at it. enjoy the game, everybody. (announcer) you do have health insurance don't you? if you don't, now you're in luck. carefirst bluecross blueshield can cover you for as little as $75 a month. depending on the plan you choose. just call us at the number on your screen for the plan that's right for you. carefirst bluecross blueshield lets you customize coverage so you have an individual plan that suits you best. select a ppo or an hmo, add visi

the team e.r.a. is up to 5.32 so they have fallen last in the league.ay the trip began in seattle, it is very disappointing it didn't carry over here. sharp hit ball, wide to first. salazar has it and he gets the out. >> buck: one thing bass has done is pitch down in the zone with both the sinker ball and the slider. and that has allowed him to come up for three easy outs since he's come into this game. he's been a valuable part of this bullpen. and the guy that's been very consistent and has been very reliable. >> jim: two down. that brings up cust. walked his first at-bat. and that is a strike. no one on base, the orioles go into the overshift on jack cust. you see the shortstop andino on the second base site and there is wigginton in shallow rightfield. fouled back, it's 0-2. >> buck: you look at the shift, wigginton out there in shallow rightfield and cust has always been a notorious all or nothing type of guy. he has patience. he'll take his loss but he'll also strike out a lot, but with that you get some pop. >> jim: 0-2. and that's outside. 1-2 o

the team physician tom clanton released a statement saying: >> baseball news. after going hitless in his first two game, manny ramirez went 2-2 with a home run in his last rehab start. the dodgers' slugger will play in his final minor league game tonight. he's expected to rejoin his teammates july 3rd when the suspension is lifted. every single at-bat you've been able to see and hear live on espnews. that not going to change. the at-bats tonight. we will have them once again, live at-bats from manny ramirez in his final rehab start on espnews. >> he's great. >> he's accurate. that's why. congratulations. >> you're saying cubs' fans are stupid? >> ozzie is not crazy. i agree with the portions about that being more of place to be, more of place to be seen and more of a place to go ahead and have party-like atmosphere than people being encouraged, than people actually caring about what happens on the field. >> in my opinion, i love to see the guy play baseball. he's a true genius. steroids aren't going to keep the guy from hitting a home run. >> as a fan, that's no

a 1.84, facing the royals. no teamredea less runs on the road than the more fantasy news and analysiso every single day for free.fantas every single day for free.fantas come on to more cash over here! it's much easier to find money at esurance. great auto insurance rates and lots of discounts! got insurance already? save more with esurance's "switch & save (tm) discount"! it also pays to shop online. you get esurance's "fast 5 (tm) discount" just for getting an instant online quote. - thanks, professor. - don't forget the good student discount. and there's even more discounts! it's no "secret" that you can save hundreds with esurance. make it your "mission" to click or call esurance today. >> second round of the travelers championship at the tpc river highlands in connecticut. sergio garcia not having a good day, teeing off on number 11 with a wedge. he's into the deep rough. nowhere near the green. so his second shot, skirts off the edge of the green. he would bogey the hole. sergio would be saved from his rough outin

. >> and roch kubatko will discuss whether or not the team is in need of a left-handed specialist. all of that and much more coming up in the next 30 inits on "o's xtra" here on masn! >>> welcome to an evening of orioles' baseball. this is the first of three in south florida. the orioles have won five straight and are 9-3 against the national league teams which is the best in baseball. tonight the orioles send koji u larra to the mound. the marlins send left-handed andrew miller, who is 2-3 with a 4.56 e.r.a. "o's xtra" masn is being brought to you by at&t. tom davis together with rick dempsey. the orioles five straight wins now, rick. better pitching or better hitting? >> i like the way both of it is going now. the reason i like the offense so much is because they're scoring early in ballgames. they're scoring a little bit in the middle and whatever they need late in ballgames they're getting now. they're building a lot of confidence, and they seem to be relaxing, and they're down in ballgames and they're scoring runs. that's what i like the most. a pinch hit base hitter and then t

and he just let us know he was proud of the whole team, the group in general.was a long tournament, you know. it was mentally draining and physically draining, but he's just proud of our effort. we showed that we can play with the big boys, so we were happy about that as a team. >> landon donovan said there are no moral victories here. what do you think? >> no moral victories? no. obviously we're disappointed in the loss, you know, we made it to the final and we got a long way. saying that we can take a lot of the tournament and be proud. like i said, we left everything out on the field, and in the end, it just happened, you know, brazil was the better team, and we got beat and that happens in sports. >> what lessons did you come away with? >> you know, the lessons that we don't just come here the participate in these tournaments anymore. we're now on the world stage and we've showed that we cannot only compete with these wig teams but also beat them. and so we can take a lot away from that and the confidence, you know, going into next next summer's world cup e

egypt againsey have to say, all right, you beat the number one team in the world. you have that same sort ofam spirit against brazil. brazil is a different teamil against spain.eam spain more methodical, almostha predictable, then brazil, you got the individuals that can beat you on the dribble with aso little bit of flair and creativity. obviously the set pieces. it's going to be a different wih of brazil. drent >> who are you rooting for? >> i plead the fifth. pd my life is a happy life. >> oh, come on! >> either way you'll be happy.il >> the u.s. will be missing best michael bradley, who scored against egypt and got a red cart at the tail end of the game against spain. how does that impact the united states.pa here it is.ll tha is that a red card? >> it's not a red card except that this is becoming a troublen ing trend. t it might not be a red card a around the world, but at the highest level, especially when you're playing against some ofeb the best teams in the world,n studs up, the ref sees it and he's going to ding you. if you're michael bradley or anybody e

things kind of went into a tailspin for the team after that. ryan zimmerman, i think he needs a day off tomorrow very badly, and that will refresh him. then you've got the red sox coming in. so as they say in soccer, nick johnson, the man of the match today. he was really great all weekend long. >> when you look at what's gone on, basically week after week, nationals pitchers two outs, struggle getting the third out. they get two strikes on the guy and struggle to get the third strike or at least get the guy out. i mean, it seems like it's over and over again. >> you're dead right with that one. you need ultimate concentration to work ahead, get your team back in there and that's one of the. the next time we visit with you, get ready. i hear there's going to be a lot of navy blue ball caps with a big b on them in our ballpark tuesday night. this is going to be some atmosphere when the red sox come in. >> you send them out of here with losses does how you handle that. back at you on tuesday night, the first of three against the boston red sox. >>

defensively the marlins have had problems. only two teamsn the national league have committed more errors than the marlins. they have committed 56. and in the outfield is coghlan, ross and her mada -- hermida. the catcher is left-handed hitting john baker. the infield has committed 32 errors when you factor in three behind the plate for baker. >> jim: there is fredi gonzalez, the skipper of the florida marlins doing a fine job down here as the marlins with a win tonight would get back to .500. they're at 35-36. to give you an idea of the differences, a.l. east versus n.l. east, the marlins are a game below .500 and they're only three games it of first place. >> buck: it is going to be a real log jam in the national east as there are no real clear cut favorites. even the reigning world champs are struggling there. >> jim: the fastball is in for a strike and we're underway in miami. brian's bat has come alive, especially over the weekend in philadelphia. he looks at a fastball wide to the plate. 1-1 the count. >> buck: he did a heck of a job.

orioles began play as the only team in the east below .500. tampa bay is two above. they're seven outs. one above would be two out. 2-1 on matt wieters. swings through it, 2-2. >> buck: well, dan meyer a strike way from his first professional save. diernl that is it. >> jim: he was a first-round pick of the braves back in 2002. the 2-2 is swing and a missed. wieters down on strikes. the ballgame is over. marlins have won on and first two in this series. last night rashes three-run comeback to force extra innings. tonight, orioles go three up, three down. a long night for manager dave trembley whose team did not play well in this game. final score here in florida, the marlins five. the orioles, two. since 1873, coors banquet has been brewed in one place... and one place only: golden, colorado. it's followed one tradition: use the best high-country barley... and only rocky mountain water. and it's been brewed under one motto: never compromise. now maybe this means we're a little set in our ways. but we know a few guys who will drink to that. coors. the banquet beer. >>

tomorrow he's expected to fly back to baltimore with the team on the team plane. but dave said cesar is expected to be about out two to three weeks maybe more. tomorrow we should see him move to the d.l. we're getting word it will be oscar called up in his place. in the meantime he isn't a shortstop, robert will get the start at shortstop. something he's excited about. he's looking forward to getting into the groove. since coming to the orioles he has not been an every day player. he's not had a chance to get successive bats and days. something he's looking forward to. it's been difficult for him in the american league. he was used to the national league. he was with the marlins last year. he said in the national league you have a chance to play every day even if you don't start. that's not the case with the american league. and he talked more about that with me earlier. >> national league you probably could get to bat almost maybe every day because you always have to hit for the pitcher. here maybe once a week or twice a week. it's hard. stay in shape. keep with

it's always normally the older team. but also it hurt the psyche of the losing team. all orlando magic has been hearing about is kobe bryant, points in the paint, we missed so many open shots, we didn't do well when they made us put the ball on the floor and they closed out to us. so in this situation, it favors the home team and the team that's ahead with the winning record in the lakers 1-0 they're up in this series. >> one guy that we haven't talked about, jameer nelson, at least there was speculation about whether he was going to play. he looked somewhat effective, stan van gundy said i made a mistake, i played him too long. who would you handle the situation in game two? >> it's a tough situation. first of all, it takes communication. it sounded like rafer alston was caught off guard. you have your all-star but now rafer also needs to help get you to this point along with anthony johnson, his backup. maybe a little bit better communication. like coach van givenedy said, maybe play him shorter spurts instead of 12 straight minutes. >> only one field goal made in ga

gives themselves a chance in the rubber match tomorrow. both these teams produce runs in the first inning. most in the majors you're looking at there. the mets 50 and the orioles with 44. >> jim: an intriguing number. i was wondering, when you think about that, do you think that maybe you prepare better for the starting pitcher than you do some of the relievers because you see them, you see the film, get a better handle on them? >> gary: they're the ones you're looking at. >> jim: obviously you're at the top of your line-up. roberts and markakis and jones have been so hot throughout the year. >> gary: the other interesting part about scoring runs in the first inning is that these two teams, the mets and the orioles, are also the only teams in the majors who have allowed more than 40 runs in the first inning. so there's a lot of offense in the first couple innings when these two teams play both ways. >> jim: you wonder, because we look at the orioles, they had an ineffective and an injured laden starting staff early on and they made some changes. we're goin

the bullpen has the team, the season. that doesn't get a lot of is johnson. he has made more appearances i reliever, and been one most effective, the last 10 appearances. from a period of may 17th he's pushed 13 2/3 one earned run. i caught with him and asked him what allowed him to get in the groove. we're all pretty our starting going to get us deeper in the game. it wasn't that scenario last you know. we knew we had to pick up five innings almost every day. go with in that mind set we only have maybe at four innings to pick up, but most it's three or two, and game every now and then, that takes a lot of pressure off us. many games, you need a mental break every now and then. watch the innings unfold, you get an you're going to pitch. take that mental day and re charge the battery. to do that. point in his career way two years ago when the pitcher that maybe he should tried to lengthen his stride. he pitching effectively, and for the past two years, that's been something he has every day. with allowing to get to the big leagues and stay here for the past tw

team. how important is it for you to get a lot of minutes right off the bat. >> if i get some team, i won't to play with, you know, pressure with my teammates. so we're going to see. >> how are you going to work out your biothat you get here the play next season? >> my agents are working on that, so i don't have to worry. they're going to resolve that. >> so you're very confident that you'll the playing next season in the united states in. >> it's my dream. >> the comparisons to pistol pete mare vich. you have the similar hair. how fair is that to sort of compare you to one of the greatest basketball players of all time in the united states? >> i don't think that i can compare with him. he was a great player in the nba. he was a scorer. i am not a scorer. i am more a point guard, you know, so it's hard to look like him because i have like 500 d.v.d.sfrom the media who give them to me and then i look like pistol, but the only thing that i look like with the hair. >> top stories coming up in our "aircheck" segment. the guys will debate phil jackson's potential plan of working part-time, just

this process of building the team and enhancing what you have given us the thoolz there's tremendous capability that has been built and the legal construct that often your work the committee's work and the legislations passed has addressed in now it's our responsibility to make sure we can implement that fully. having her serving in that role and helping to transition as i came on board and again a very strong regional administrator as part of the fema family as you pointed out she brought a lot of commonsense approach and got a good team to address the challenges that we faced in the recovery and that is a continual commitment that we have. as i serve in this capacity coming from a state director and working with senator -- with secretary napolitano who was once a governor and the challenges we face in helping our citizen and see we continue to work towards that. we're working with our state partners to give them more ownership of this process. we know as you point out temporary housing. how do we house people after a disaster? it's not a solution with the states and as we work with

team, the angels. it's that brand of baseball you're talk about situational hitting ortmeier way. >> jim: having good teams. the national league even with reyes out in the national league in stolen base. that's the type of ball club they have to be. imagine when you talk about they've had 11 guys on the disabled list and they're still over .500. >> gary: yeah, and only four games off the lead. the count with two down, runner at first base. matt wieters strokes that one into left field. base hit. >> jim: there you go. stalked about at least allowing pelfrey to get you back into the game. base on balls and then right here pretty good pitch. first time i have seen matt wieters cover the outside corner hits the ball down the left-field line. a lot of balls to right field up the middle. terrific at-bat. >> gary: now orioles are going to look for that two-out rbi. robert andino lined out softly to short his first time up. andino will get a chance here for .333 with runners in scoring position. he hasn't had m

the final step. houston rockets team physician dr. clanton tells the houston chronicle that yao ming's broken left foot could cause him to miss the entire upcoming season and it could be a career threatening injury. he suffered a hairline fracture during a may 8 playoff game with the lakers. the team said last week the injury hasn't healed and he's out indefinitely. here's chris broussard with more. >> news that yao ming's career may be in jeopardy because of a foot injury has transformed a franchise that seemed to be on the rise into a franchise in flux. while the rockets continue to seek treatment options for yao in hopes of returning to action questions abound. do you perceive that the 7'6" all-star is no longer your cornerstone. do you part ways with ron artest, going young and position yourselves to be major players in the free agent market of 2010? do you pursue players that fit around yao or ignore his presence altogether when building your roster? and if yao does come back do you count on him to make it through a regular season

he was a very important part the athletics winning teams in the late '80s and '90s and favorites ofger tony la russa. and cabrera just did get a piece. >> buck: that's a good breaki ball we're seeing from matt alberts. he's unusual in that he throws a sinking fastball and a curveball. most of the times you see a combination of a sinking fastball and a slider. but he has good depth on the  curveball and it presents problems, especially when he's pounding that sinker inside >> jim: and he got him. and cabrera swings on it. and cabrera swings on it. back to back k's. beautiful day on san francisco bay and the athletics have the lead. if you're at a party. or, playing golf. like those guys. or, in a bar. [ old timey western bar music ] draw another door. don't say draw. never filling, always refreshing. bud light. the difference is drinkability. seven aces. >> jim: athletics with three in the bottom of the first. first thousand fans 15 and over will receive a mallet sent presented by old bay, with this set you can combine two of bird lands favorite summer tradition, stea

espn is standing by the story that the team did exactly that. emed to leave the door open for favre to come to town at some point. >> i think we're anxious to see favre throw the ball, is that where you're standing to see him throw before you make any concrete decision on that? >> no. i'm not that anxious. no. i'm not on mood elevators or anything like that. but you always want to see that happen. >> is the plan for you to see him throw at some point? does that leave the door open? >> you know what, that's down the road stuff. the guy's retired right now. and we'll have to talk to him about that. >> given how important the quarterback position is, is that something that can extend to the week before training camp? you know, the end of july? is that something that you need clarity on prior to that? >> do i need clarity on it? >> again, it's hard to speculate, kevin. it's hard. like i said the other day deadlines, you know. >> >> look the ncaa has placed ample banana bam's football program and 15 other teams on three years probation for major viola

is constructed, you know, the opponent is irrelevant. and in a team sport, that's ra rare. >> number one, they struggled with their shooting. actually tied the second fewest field goals made in a final game, which is 23. their 29.9% shooting, the lowest since the 2003 spurs shot 28.9% in game 4 against the nets. san antonio won that series. and it was the lowest field goal percentage since game 1 since 1951. >> coming up, plaxico burress and his lawyers are hoping he can play football this fall. we have a behind the scenes report on the play. (marco andretti) i race to win. i know when it's the perfect time to change my tires. when it comes to shaving i know when to change my blade. (announcer) gillette fusion's indicator strip fades to white when it may be time to change. fresh blade. better shave. >> welcome back. ten days after complaining about the uncertainty of the colts coaching staff, peyton manning said today he has a better understanding of the situation. here's the deal. two long time assistants who worked closely with manning all these yea

the orioles. i think a lot of teams have trouble playing on the road. eaton best teams in baseball. they say they can play .500 baseball on the road, still, that's pretty darn good. orioles right now are 5 1/2 games away from playing that good on the road .500. you think about the beginning of the season where they spent a lost time in their own division. they go up to boston. they played up there. they have not played well up in boston especially early on in the season. they have to go play the new york yankees and the toronto blue jays. they have not done well. as of late year dash last year, tampa bay is starting to give the orioles a lot of trouble. the orioles fundamentally are not a good team while they're on the road either. they don't play good defense in other teams' ballparks whichmeans they should take more time taking ground balls, cutting the man off. they're not good at that on the road to. explain that, i really can't. you go to seattle, they usually in the past have played very well against seattle. this year, seattle pot little better offense against them than they d

and the hottest team in baseball the rockies going for the 7th straight win.nd kobe did have 31 points. our experts tell us why he faded down the stretch in game up in three. and phil mickelson with the return to the links after stepping away to be his wife who is battling breast cancer and hearing his emotional words. and tom brady's comeback from knee surgery easier every day. getting used to new playing partners. ce the perfect hotwire getaway-- shop till you drop, relax by the pool at a four-star hotel for a two-star price from hotwire.com. when hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them... so you get them at prices lower than any other travel site, guaranteed. like four stars in chicago. travelocity price, $179. hotwire hot rate, just $95. hotwire.com. four-star hotels, two-star prices. ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com save big on car rentals, too, from $13.95 a day! that he has had the last month or so. >> the a.l. central leading tigers in chicago and verlander on the mound looking to win the the first inning, ramirez's and another curve to ge

the dreaded 0-3 hole. we have reports on both teams. here's shelly smith with the lakers. >> they've come to expect the spectacular, so when kobe bryant isn't, his teammates say he's human. >> a couple mistakes that i made. that i wouldn't mind getting back. that being said, you've got to pick your head up, put one foot in front of the other, and keep on moving. >> his teammates also say they've got to do a better job bailing him out when, as he said, orlando throws the kitchen sink at him. >> if they're going to throw extra people at him, we have enough players that can put the ball in the basket and make plays, to where they'll have to do something else. >> as he watched film last night or today, he'll start seeing spaces where they're coming from, who's coming, and he'll start kicking that ball out to myself, trevor, lamar, jordan, whoever's open, and we'll make the plays from there. >> as opposed to just watching him do what he does and then turning to the shooters on the weak side, we've got to cut to the lane, fill gaps, we've got

it's not about winning necessarily against the big teams. you get off the field after the 90 minutes you want to say "i'm proud of the u.s. and i have hope for the future." the progress that this team and sport has made on and off the field in the last 10-20 years is phenomenal, it's so incredible when you compare it to other countries -- the fact is in the united states, we want everything immediately. we want to be able to win the world cup. we want to be able to compete. my problem with this team is it's not necessarily the best players but it's not the best group of players, and as we've seen in any sport it's not necessarily all the great stars and all the best players coming together, it's the proper mix. when you're looking at this team we have to ask ourselves is this the proper mix? is this the proper collection of players that's going to win, that's going to compete at a world-cup level? >> the u.s. needed egypt to beat italy to stay alive. egypt with the corner kick. egypt strikes first. on the replay, the beautiful cross there, a

. >> the phillies are the ultimate paradox, a first place team that's dropped 10-12. they lead the national league in home runs, yet lead the majors in home runs allowed. they have the best road record in the majors, but can't win at home. they have one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball, but they've benched jimmy rollins as cole hamels says "we're fortunate everyone in the n.l. east is playing really bad." hamels on the found, taken out in the fifth game, has words for home plate spire mark carlton. >> he was leaving anyway. >> exactly. he was arguing balls and strikes. rickey romero dealing for the jays. no-hitter into the seventh. broken up by chase utley. ryan howard grounds into the 4-6-3 double play. romero seven scoreless innings. gave up just two hits, struck out seven. the jays take it 6-1. phills also won in seven since raul ibanyez went down with a groin injury. brad lidge also returned. roy halladay out since june 12th with a mild groin strain says he'll start monday against tampa bay. >> josh beckett and the a.l.-leading red sox opening a three-game s

i think most pitchers, the biggest indicator that you see the other team, their hitters. r hitters will tell you. koji is a guy who pitches to contact, but he's also a guy that is a master of deception and upsetting the hitters timing. when he gets swings and misses, when he gets guys out in front and he speeds them up, then he slows them down, then he speeds them up, when he has them late, i think that's when you know he's on his game. and i think that the truest indicator of that is watch their hitters. they'll let you know. just like the hitters will let you know when a guthrie or a bergesen or any guy who pitches when they're losing it. when the timing is not disrupted and they're fouling the fastball straight back to the screen and they're squaring everything up, it's time to say, hey, have you seen enough? and you get somebody else in there. >> koji off the disabled list last thursday against seattle, he went five innings. >> it's really hard to believe, koji has pitched so well here at camden yards. one of the things he has no comps at home. no free passes which mea