justin verlander leads the american league with 204 strikeouts.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 three position, and you have a strong running game, but t

plus, with justin verlander, cc sabathia, jason marquis and cliff lee, we have a handful of aces. we're dealing now on espnews. >> we're live from the espnews room. john buccigross, jw stewart. and thursday turned out to be quite a day in sports. tiger woods playing golf. all you baseball aces and a big day in the nfl. some marquis players playing,

justin verlander leads the american league with 204 strikeouts.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. . ♪ ♪ tell me who's watching. (announcer) it's right here. it's easy. ♪ i always feel like somebody's watching me. ♪ it's the money you could be saving with geico. 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

brian roberts off justin verlander. that's the way to start a game. it was 1-0 o's.till in the first, 2-0 now. luke scott, great hitter, goes the other way. a 2-run double. five runs on six hits in the innings. they got only 3 hits the rest of the game. chris tillman in his second big league start did not hold the lead. bottom 1, miguel cabrera, a 2- run double to left. placido plaxico. cut it to 5-3 after 1. bottom 5, it's 5-4 now. cabrera is 21st home run of the year. straight and fast, doesn't cut it in the bigs. fourth home run, tillman, is tied at 5. same score, bottom 9, 2 out. danny baez in, thomas out. a laser dead center. that's your ball game. o's lose 6-5. brian mattix makes his debut tomorrow night. >>> the ravens weren't hitting hit full speed this morning but, it was certainly the most entertaining practice so far at training camp. it's because the offense was making plays. joe flacco going up top to demetrius williams over chris kerr for the sweet grab. the ravens are hoping he can stay healthy and draw the applause from ravens fans all season. troy sm

now, president and ceo of the giants had this to say. >> justin verlander tries to right the ship for the tigers as they take on the orioles. verlander, a 2 point e.r.a. over his last five starts. brian roberts, going to right field. his ninth home run of the year. verlander, would allow phi runs in the first, but would throw seven scoreless innings after that. tigers come back, bottom of the fifth, down 5-4, not any longer. miguel cabrera, his 21st of the year, tied 5-5. bottom of the ninth, still tied. thomas unties it. his seventh of the year, his first walk-off hit and it's a biggy. the tigers win in walk-off fashion for the third time this season. the orioles have lost 11 of their last 14, verlander has never lost to baltimore in six career starts but his e.r.a. went from 1.85 to 2.57 against the os. verlander struggled in the first inning and it cost him a chance to tie josh beckett for the major league in wins. he struck out eight to shut out baltimore over the next seven innings. >> matt cain also looking for win number 13 in houston. biggio honored him before the game for 3,0

red sox looking for a four-game sweep of detroit after getting swept by the yankees, but justin verlander, who hadn't been a great stopper in his career, e.r.a. 5.94 when detroit was facing a sweep, he was great today. struck out eight. top of the fifth, boston getting some good defense. chris woodward, casey kotchman tags polanco. red sox stick around, but ryan rayburn crushes clay buchholz's offer in the top of the seventh, 2-0 the final score. the tigers prevent the sweep. boston going to go to texas this weekend for a game that might shake up the a.l. wild card because the red sox went into today a game and a half up. they lose, guess what, the rangers win in cleveland to wrap up their ten-game road trip. josh hamilton 4-4, hit .486 on this roady. el vin andrews goes yard, as well. the rangers half game behind boston in the wild card standings. they'll host the red sox this weekend. the chicago cubs' g.m., manager and chairman have all apologized to shane victorino after a "fan" threw beer on him last night while playing. the phillies' center fielder has filed an official complaint wi

struggled against the red sox, and zack greinke still can't find a groove after his fantastic start, justin verlanderaces out there on the mound, but finding trouble tonight against several offenses. of course we'll have much more highlights and reaction coming up. top stories ahead, brett favre missed two a days, find out how he's winning over his two viking teammates. will and j.w. stewart take over will and j.w. stewart take over ooooohhhh. i'm not beth. aaaaaahhh. ooooohhhh. (announcer) calling all captains. drink responsibly. ( music, words in reverse ) what could you win? i won! live nation vip concert access with scrabble at subway! play the game millions have won. everything from prius cars... to $100,000 jackpots, trips and vip concert access. play scrabble at subway... where winners eat. ♪

this makes detroit excellent when you're talking justin verlander and jared washburn throwing the ball this is a very interesting point you brought up. talking about what you get back in terms of getting guys that have major league experience. the bonus is already paid, things like that. there is a lot of money in there we don't see. >> french goes right into the rotation. he's not established like washburn. he's having one of the top years in the american league. a guy with background. having had success in the american league, you don't worry about him coming over. but they acquire two players. you keep him. let him become a free agent. they don't have to deal with scott werth as an agent now. they can sign him at the end of the year. but you would have gotten two type a free agents back. now you get these two guys. don't have to pay their bonuses. you can't go into the draft and make sure you can bring two guys back like the mariners fought back for washburn. at the end of the day, they could end up with washburn and the two picks and they didn't have to pay money for the picks whic

plus, with justin verlander, cc sabathia, jason marquis and cliff lee, we have a handful of aces.ng now on espnews. >> we're live from the espnews room. john buccigross, jw stewart. and thursday turned out to be quite a day in sports. tiger woods playing golf. all you baseball aces and a big day in the nfl. some marquis players playing, and one player soon to be playing again, michael vick has found his team. and michael vick does get that chance. michael vick played in the nfl was on new year's eve 2006, that was against the philadelphia eagles. now he'll be playing for the eagles. vick signed a two year deal back-up for donovan mcnabb. he will get 1.6 million dollars in the first year. with an option for 5.6 million. the former quarterback was convicted for running a dog fighting ring and serving 18 months in prison. he can play in the final two preseason games i i of he can apply for. >> michael needed to go to an organization that was strong at every level. strong ownership, strong infrastuckture with a head coach, an established starting quarterback, and andy reed, strong coa