SPORTS N STUFF

The Atlanta Braves will host Major League Baseballs Civil Rights Games in 2010-11, team president John Schuerholz announced Wednesday at the King Center.

No dates or opponents have been set for the games, which will be played during the next two regular seasons. The 2009-10 games were held in Cincinnati.

Jimmie Lee Solomon, MLBs executive vice president for baseball development, called Atlanta, the home of slain civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., an easy choice as the host city.

Though it has yet to announce an agenda for the Atlanta event, MLB hopes to create greater presence for baseball in the black community. MLB released a report last month stating that black players accounted for just 9 percent of major league rosters in 2009.

Latino players accounted for 27 percent and Asian players 2.3 percent.

“Jackie Robinson integrated baseball in 1947,” Solomon said. “That was before the armed forces, Brown v. Board of Education, it was before Rosa Parks refused to sit at the back of the bus. Sometimes that is forgotten because of the work of Dr. King and so many other civil rights activist. Jackies integration into Major League Baseball created a grand experiment for our society.”

Martin Luther King III, the president and CEO of the King Center, was joined on stage for the announcement by Schuerholz, Solomon, former U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young, Braves broadcaster Joe Simpson and baseball legend Hank Aaron.

“Baseball created a situation that forced people of different color to do things together,” Young said. “Some people showed lots of reluctance, but I remember a good ol boy from South Georgia said to me in 1965 that if (Atlanta was) going to be a big-league city and these players like Hank have to be able to buy a nice house. My jaw nearly hit the ground.”

Atlantas two-day event next year will end with a Braves game at Turner Field. Solomon said baseball has yet to decide on activities or an agenda for 2011.

Willie Mays, Billie Jean King and Harry Belafonte were among those honored in 2010 with MLB Beacon Awards.

“The Beacon Awards and the Civil Rights Game have become one of our games great signature events, and rightfully so,” Selig said earlier this year. “Baseball is proud to honor in this way the efforts to bring total equality to all Americans, regardless of color or creed.”

Get ready for Clemens vs. Clemens.

Roger Clemens is expected to pitch against his son, Koby, on Wednesday night in the Home Run Derby prior to the Texas League All-Star game in Midland, Texas.

Because of the format, the Rocket will actually be trying to let his son take him deep as often as possible.

Koby is among eight batters. Its not clear how many others his dad will face.

Koby is a first baseman for the Houston Astros Double-A affiliate in Corpus Christi. He is second in the league in home runs (16) and RBIs (53). Once it looked like he would be an All-Star, Roger Clemens called event organizers and offered to take part.

Is Evgeni Nabokov still a $5 million or &#036 whats a veteran netminder like him worth these days?

You might ask the same questions about Steve Mason, Jose Theodore and Martin Biron, and about more than 20 other goalies who will hit the open market when free agency begins Thursday. No doubt they but chances are many goalies will be rudely awakened by what they find out there.

Niemi, who had a salary of $827,000 last season, helped Chicago win the Stanley Cup. (US Presswire) Truth is the timing could be better for a lot of these guys, who collectively seem to be the best part of what is shaping up to be a mediocre free-agent class.

For one thing, few teams have big money to throw at free agents anymore, and the glut of similarly talented netminders who are available means they really wont have to.

But what seems more important these days is the changing mindset about the position among some general managers in the wake of this seasons two Stanley Cup finalists getting there with inexpensive and in essence no-name goaltending. Its a philosophy the Detroit Red Wings have lived by for years.

“Its one thing if you have one of the five top goaltenders in the league, but otherwise you put your money someplace,” said Detroit GM Ken Holland, who has long been an advocate of putting only modest resources into goaltending. “My personal feeling is that theres not much difference between the sixth- and 20th-best goalie and a strong defense is a great equalizer.”

Or a strong offense.

The Chicago Blackhawks had both and were able to win the Stanley Cup with rookie Antti Niemi, who was being paid only $827,000. Meanwhile, midseason waiver pickup Michael Leighton took the Philadelphia Flyers to Game 6 on a $600,000 salary. And San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson alluded to those performances last week when he announced Nabokov would not be offered a new contract.

“If you look at the trends in this league the last four or five years in particular and the dollars that are dedicated to that position, teams are having success with lower-paid goalies,” Wilson said. “If youre dedicating $5 [million] or $6 million, thats coming out of somewhere else.”

And suddenly that doesnt seem so necessary any more. Conventional wisdom is that you need big-time goaltending to win but what has become more apparent of late is that it doesnt necessarily come from the marquee and highest-paid names. Ryan Miller and Martin Brodeur couldnt take their teams out of the first round this spring. Roberto Luongo came undone in the second. Henrik Lundqvist didnt even get to the playoffs.

Meanwhile, 25-year-old backup Jaroslav Halak stole back-to-back series against powerhouses Washington and Pittsburgh for Montreal, and Boston Bruins rookie Tuukka Rask did the same against Buffalo.

That made it easier for Wilson to part ways with Sharks lifer Nabokov, who much like San Jose, has been a brilliant regular-season performer who falls short in the playoffs. San Jose will put its faith in either 24-year-old Thomas Greiss or 22-year-old Alex Stalock and possibly a veteran goalie from the free-agency market.

“The goaltending market is very deep,” Wilson said. “Theres lots of goalies that are out there.”

Too bad for them.

Flaming out

Spring cleaning efforts are in full force around the league as teams flood the waiver wires with players they want to get rid of before free agency begins. Like Ales Kotalik.

The Calgary Flames added him to their list of dumps, only a few months after they took Kotalik and his bad contract off the Rangers hands to get rid of Olli Jokinen. The Flames had no more use for Jokinen, but the team would have been out of his contract when it expired after the season. Instead, GM Darryl Sutter made like a riverboat gambler trying to get his underachieving team into the playoffs and traded Jokinen to get Kotalik and disappointing Chris Higgins.

Higgins is unrestricted so he wont cost anything to go away, but if Kotalik clears waivers as expected, Calgary will have to buy him out and pay him out over four years at an annual $1 million cap hit. Its not the first time Sutter has badly mismanaged his budget either.

Icings

• Looks like the career of Jonathan Cheechoo might be over. The Senators put him on waivers after the former Maurice Richard Trophy winner as top goal scorer had only five goals in 61 games last season after being pushed on Ottawa as part of the Dany Heatley trade to San Jose. Cheechoo, never a great skater to begin with, has been unable to regain his speed after a couple of sports hernia surgeries.

•& New Jerseys Ilya Kovalchuk i means a lot of teams will be looking toward trading, especially when it comes to plugging holes at center. Theres not much out there down the middle, but several reports have Bostons Marc Savard waiving his no-trade clause for specific markets, while Philadelphias Jeff Carter and Ottawas Jason Spezza are thought to be in play.

• The NHL Players Association invoked an option that will raise the salary cap ceiling to $59.4 million, but a growing number of teams are using their own budgets rather than that limit to set their payroll. The talk around the draft was that anywhere from 15 to 25 teams will practice the art of self restraint this season. The St. Louis Blues are being pressed by owners to stay very close to the $43.4 million cap floor, while usual suspects like Nashville, Florida and Phoenix are working with very sharp pencils. Even Anaheim conceded it wont spend the $6 million bonus Scott Niedermayer gave them when he retired last week. “Budgets, were going to watch much closer,” said Ducks GM Bob Murray.

They said it

“Hes a young gentleman whose potentials been untapped, really. Part of it is that I dont think hes been in the greatest place for his development. I think theyve always been kind of floundering around. I think the Boston market, the s Recently re-signed Bruins veteran Mark Recchi on Boston acquisition of Nathan Horton from Florida.

Everyone has an opinion about where LeBron James is going and whos joining him. To that point, the LeBrons from the TV commercials were alive and well this past weekend, having reportedly been in Miami, New York and Chicago all at the same time.

Its the height of silly season in the NBA, and the start of the most anticipated free-agent period in league history is still more than a day away. But one person is perhaps most uniquely positioned to speculate on LeBrons future. That person has been on both sides of the fence in LeBrons relationship with Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, and he also was willing to speak freely and on the record when I reached him on the phone this week. No sources, no confidants, no private moments, no agendas.

Dan Gilbert didnt buy the Cavaliers to watch the franchises most valuable asset walk away. (Getty Images) That person is Steve Greenberg, son of the late Hammerin Hank Greenberg and undisputed king of the sports transaction as managing director of the New York-based investment firm Allen & Co.

“The irony about this whole media circus is that, if you look at what LeBron has done in Cleveland and what Dan has accomplished in Cleveland with the C let alone multiple titles over the past two or three we probably wouldnt be going through this exercise,” Greenberg said. “My point being, the Cavs and LeBron, Dan and LeBron, and LeBron and the Cavs are the perfect sort of triangle and match for one to Cleveland. They just havent done it yet. And had they, I dont think anybody would be talking about going to Chicago, Miami, New York or another place. I think that has helped fuel the speculation.”

There are those on the team side of things willing to speculate on their chances of landing LeBron. There are those from various, competing factions of LeBrons camp who are willing to do the same. But only Greenberg has the kind of experience as a stakeholder with both Gilbert and LeBron, so his words carry considerable weight in this breathless debate about where James will decide to spend the prime years of his career as an athlete and icon.

Greenberg, whose Allen & Co. brokers the biggest sports deals, worked with Gilbert on his attempted acquisition of Rawlings in the early 2000s, advised him on his attempt to buy the Milwaukee Brewers from the Selig family and finally helped him close the deal to purchase the Cavs. When James agent, Leon Rose, h which now represents the top three N Greenberg acted as an informal advisor to Maverick Carter, the CEO of James marketing company, LRMR Marketing.

Greenberg knows Gilbert well, and also has experience with namely Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan. (He calls Reinsdorf a “friend,” but declined to comment on Dolan because he has been on opposing sides of past business dealings with him.) But he also has come to know LeBron and what makes him tick. Whereas most NBA players think Allen & Co. is another name for the Celtics Big Three, when Greenberg first met LeBron, he was astonished that the budding superstar associated the name with the firms annual conference for titans of industry in Sun Valley, Idaho, and wanted to attend.

All of this has he an opinion more than worthy of inclusion in the vuvuzela-like drone of speculation that currently has America covering its collective ears.

“Its sort of like [Derek] Jeter,” Greenberg said. “When his contract comes up, people dont say, Gee, I wonder if Derek is going to go play for the Giants in San Francisco. Hes so intertwined with the fabric of those pinstripes, and has been for so long with such success, and has been so comfortable in that environment. You used to be able to do it more, but [Cal] Ripken has done it. Jeter has done it. … Despite all the craziness, I suspect Kobe [Bryant] is going to be a Laker for life. Those are few and far between in sports, but when you look back, those tend to be the players that have the greatest impact on the game.

“Whats really extraordinary about and it happens to be not one of the top five markets,” Greenberg said. “I kind of liken it to Warren Buffett. If Buffett lived in New York or the Greenwich, Conn., suburbs or San Francisco or Chicago, I actually think some of the mystique of being the Oracle of Omaha might have been diminished. The fact that hes lived in the same house in Omaha and it is his hometown tends to lend to the legend. So if you can do it in Cleveland or Chicago as opposed to New York or L.A., that only adds to it.”

It is no secret, of course, that Buffett has become one of James most influential mentors. So while I believ and enhance his goal by moving his one-man corporation to a major market, Greenberg is on the other side of the argument. All you have to do when deciding how much weight to give his opinion is look at his track record. Hes usually on the right side of the biggest sports deals, and has experience with both parties who will be making (or not making) this one.

Poll Where will LeBron James sign? Cavaliers Heat Bulls Knicks Nets

“Dan is the ultimate entrepreneur and the ultimate people person,” Greenberg said. “If you look at any of his organizations, starting with Quicken Loans, thereve been a couple of keys to his success. One is his sort of vision and leadership, but the other is his ability to attract, maintain and incentivize key executives over long periods of time.”

Now, Gilbert chases the most important executive of his career.

“I imagine that Dan would want to have a multi-decade relationship with LeBron James,” Greenberg said. “Thats how hes thinking, and that will go for as long as Dan owns that franchise. Thats going to be his approach. I know its been his approach the last five years.”

How does he do it?

“That is part of Dans secret sauce,” Greenberg said. “From a long time hanging around the sports industry, Ive seen all kinds of owners; the good, bad and ugly, the smart and the not so smart. And over a period of time, the quality of ownership does tend to affect the way an organization thinks, acts and performs on the field or on the court. Dan is one of those guys. Hes a winner, a winner in life, a winner in business, and hes going to be a winner in the basketball business, as he has been.”

Thats where we are, 36 hours from the biggest transaction of Gilberts career. Greenberg said that if you asked 100 people to tell you the first thing that comes to mind when you say, “Cleveland,” 50 of them would say LeBron James. If LeBron leaves, and you asked 100 people to tell you what comes to mind when you say, “Dan Gilbert,” he would be the guy who let LeBron James get away.

We are days away, maybe even hours, from a transaction that will define them both. Greenberg, sports biggest deal maker, isnt in a position to bet against either one.

The latest edition of the Rangers Podcast in Arlington is now up…listen to me, Jamey and Ted talk about how awesome this team is right now, and how the Josh Hamilton/cup on the warning track game was the turning point for AJM.

You can download it here, or get the iTunes version here…

Check it out…

And in addition, Ted and Sean Bass will be hosting the live Rangers pre-game show at tonight at 8:00 p.m. Check that out, as well…

Trying to keep this on the top of the page, so Ive made it a story instead of a fan post. Everything written below was by Eric.

SB Nation Los Angeles Is Now Live! I kicked things off with an article on the top five most popular athletes in Los Angeles.

There is a launch party tonight.

Here are the details again:

5:00 – 8:00 PM

Capitol City Sports Grille

615 N. Cahuenga Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90028

I look forward to seeing you there

Near the end of the drafts first round, Floridas Dale Tallon was asked by a rival general manager if he wanted to trade for one more pick before it was over.

Floridas new GM Dale Tallon drafts 13 players, including 10 selected among the first 100 picks. (Getty Images) San Joses Doug Wilson was only joking though when he came up with the idea for the Sharks No. 28 pick. By then Tallon had already made three selections in the opening round, moving Wilson to suggest that his one-time teammate “might as well take over the whole draft.”

What Wilson probably didnt realize at the time was that the Panthers new general manager was on his way to doing just that, making a draft-high 13 picks during the two days in Los Angeles. Three were in the first round, three more in the second round, including a pair that were rated by many to go in the first round, and 10 were among the first 100 players drafted.

Tallons remarkable haul capped off a week that saw him swing two big trades as well and essentially lay down the foundation for a major and much-needed talent overhaul of the organization. The blueprint came from his former team in Chicago where Tallon built the Blackhawks into a Stanley Cup champion by going heavy on drafting and then filling in holes through trades, in this case for skilled NHL players, one a defenseman and the others young forwards.

“We feel it was a great turning point for our franchise,” Tallon said.

It needs to be. The Florida franchise had as much potential for success as any that joined under the NHL southern strategy that began in the early 90s, thanks to its built-in and affluent base of transplants and winter visitors from deep-rooted traditional markets. The organization even tasted success early with a trip to the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals in Season 3, but it was fleeting because since then the Panthers have been to the playoffs twice, never advancing beyond the first round.

And even that hasnt happened in 10 years.

Making matters worse, the franchise has been a model of instability since its 2000 playoff appearance. It is now on its seventh coach, eighth general manager and has changed ownership hands a couple of times. On the bright side, the Panthers have a small but devoted core of season ticket holders and one of the leagues best arena facilities, and they have even developed some grass roots for the sport (Andrew Yogan of Boca Raton became the first player born and trained in South Florida to be drafted when the New York Rangers selected him in Los Angeles). But for the most part, the Panthers losing ways have made them an afterthought on the local sports scene over the last several years.

So while the idea of rebuilding from the ground up seems like the sound way to go, Tallon does have to move things along a little quicker for the franchise to survive.

“Well do it with youth, size and creativity,” Tallon said. “I love young players, I like innovative, creative players, I like good kids, guys I can have fun with. Thats what Im all about. Im a relationship guy. I like to develop relationships with these guys. I like to develop and see these guys have success.”

Itll help if Tallon finds a productive way to use the extra few million in cap space he cleared with his moves last week. Florida now has 20 players under contract and is still about $13 million under the limit, a good place to be as Thursdays free-agent market opening approaches.

Truth is the period immediately preceding the draft and leading into the opening of the free-agent market is arguably the most crucial time to set up rosters for next season. But cap problems, mostly the result of ill-advised contracts, are posing serious challenges for many teams these days. Thats why many general managers eager to wheel and deal were unable to get anything done at the draft.

“As it sits right now, were going to go through free agency and build our team in the summer,” said Vancouver Mike Gillis, echoing a refrain of many of his colleagues. “I thought there would be more trades but there werent. Im just happy we were able to make one.”

In fact, Vancouvers deal was the only one of significance over the weekend, and not surprisingly it involved Tallon. Florida sent veteran defenseman Keith Ballard to the Canucks in a package for young forwards Steve Bernier and Michael Grabner. But Floridas other big trade involving Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell going to Boston and Dennis Wideman coming back happened days before the draft as did the other notable deals that saw players like playoff star Jaroslav Halak, veteran Jason Arnott and a trio of Blackhawks change teams.

The reality is that making the big flashy deals everyone seems to hope for at drafts are next to impossible unless a lot of groundwork has been done ahead of time. No one wants to make a spur of the moment decision on someone they havent carefully considered in terms of impact both on the ice and the salary structure.

“The biggest influence is the [cap] floor, going up and up and up teams are looking at internal budgets a lot more closely,” Gillis said. “Thats why there is so little player movement. You have to basically match dollar for dollar, and its really difficult to do.”

And this offseason in particular did not lend itself to going the extra mile. The unrestricted market really has only one marquee name in Ilya Kovalchuk and very few teams with the money or the room to afford him. There will be a few 1-As and many second-tier types available though, some of them who were in line to become unrestricted and others who got there because their former teams needed less expensive options and did not make qualifying offers.

And for teams looking with available money and assets, like the Panthers, that bodes well.

“[But] people have to come in and earn their stripes,” Tallon said. “I watched a lot of Panthers games when I was in Florida on television, and it was an easy game. We dont want to give anyone an easy game. We want a real solid team with players who care and are passionate and pay the price to win.”

General manager Bryan Colangelo said Monday “its likely” that free agent forward Chris Bosh will leave the Toronto Raptors.

Colangelo told radio station Fan590 in Toronto that the Raptors still hope to keep the All-Star forward, but if Bosh does want to leave, he will try to work a sign-and-trade arrangement that could help both sides.

“As we look at Chris as a potential free agent, our own free agent, wanting to re-sign him, I still have that intention and desire,” Colangelo said. “But its becoming more and more clear that thats not going to happen. Now we need to decide what the best way is to come out of this.”

A sign-and-trade would allow Bosh to get an extra year on his contract while enabling the Raptors to receive something in return for losing him. If Bosh simply signs with another team, it could cost him about $30 million.

Colangelo confirmed that Bosh did not exercise his option for next season, making him a free agent. He joins the class that will include LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, and Bosh has long been considered the likeliest to leave, with Miami and Chicago often considered the favorites.

Colangelo said he has been in contact with Boshs agent, Henry Thomas, but not as much lately with Bosh, who has been traveling.

“We will get to a point where theres a conclusion to this one way or the other,” Colangelo said.

The New York Knicks have enough money to afford two maximum salary players, the Bulls are close, and the Heat can add one while keeping Wade. With so many teams in such good position heading into free agency, Colangelo knew it would be tough to keep Bosh, who he said loves the city of Toronto.

“Its the perfect storm for Chris Bosh to leave and unfortunately were possibly going to be on the short end of that, but we will evolve,” Colangelo said. “We will have to evolve and move forward.”

AAA – Colorado Springs: L 12-7, W 5-2 (35-42)

On Saturday, the Sky Sox outhit Portland 19-17 but couldnt come away with the victory. Michael McKenry hit two home runs to bring his season total to four, and Brad Eldred hit two of his own to raise his total to 20 – which leads the organization by a large margin. Unfortunately, all four of those home runs were of the solo variety. Greg Smith started the game for Colorado Springs and was thoroughly beaten up in four innings, as he allowed nine runs on 11 hits. Juan Rincon was also hit around, giving up three runs in three innings. That was sandwiched between three innings of scoreless relief from Matt Wilhite and Nick Bierbrodt. McKenry and Cole Garner each had four hits to lead the offense, while Eldred and Matt Miller each had three. Dexter Fowler made an eighth inning pinch-hit appearance and singled.

Jorge De La Rosa made his second rehab start in Sundays game, and looked every bit like he did in his first start. He went six innings and allowed a run just three hits and a walk, and struck out five. He did a tremendous job of keeping the ball down, as his ten ground outs induced (compared to three fly outs) would suggest. In addition, he gave the Sky Sox the lead for good in the fourth inning with a line drive single that plated two. Matt Miller and Cole Garner each had a couple of hits to back De La Rosa, while Taylor Buchholz notched a scoreless inning of relief, allowing a hit and striking out a batter. Dexter Fowler was 0-for-4 with a couple of strikeouts.

AA – Tulsa: L 12-9 (31-42)

Much like Colorado Springs on Saturday, Tulsa hit four home runs but still fell short of picking up the W. Wilin Rosario led the offense with two homers (giving him ten on the year), while Ryan Harvey (11) and Bronson Sardinha (2) each went yard as well. Keith Weiser did not have his best outing, as he allowed six runs on eight hits in five innings, despite striking out six. However, he was in position to win the game until Ching-Lung Lo entered the game and allowed five runs on two hits and a walk. Charlie Blackmon went 1-for-4 with a walk and scored a run.

The Drillers Sunday game was postponed.

A-ball and Rookie League recaps after the jump…

High-A – Modesto: W 5-4, L 9-5 (40-35)

With one out in the tenth inning, James Cesario hit a pinch-hit triple and was brought in on a sacrifice fly by Beau Seabury to give the Nuts the victory on Saturday, despite being outhit 10-6. Dan Houston started the game and allowed four runs on nine hits in 6.1 innings, and was victimized by the long ball. However, he was picked up nicely by his bullpen, which pitched 3.2 scoreless innings. Isaiah Froneberger was responsible for most of that, as he allowed a hit and a walk in 2.1 innings, and struck out two. Kurt Yacko and Rex Brothers pitched the remainder of the game and didnt allow any baserunners.

In Sundays game, Ethan Hollingsworth struck out seven batters in 5.1 innings, but unfortunately he caught a little too much of the plate and allowed eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits to go along with it. The big blow was a first inning three-run homer that helped San Jose take a four-run lead out of the gate. Tim Wheeler, James Cesario, and Ryan Peisel each had two hits for the Nuts. However, all ten of the teams hits were singles.

A – Asheville: W 5-0 (31-41)

The Tourists scored all five of their runs in the top of the sixth inning on Saturday, highlighted by Jared Clarks three-run homer (10). Angelys Nina went 2-for-4 with a double, and Avery Barnes had a two-hit game as well. Nolan Arenado went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly. Wes Musick tossed seven innings of shutout baseball, allowing just five hits and a walk. He struck out two batters and maintained a GO-to-FO ratio of 11 to 3.

Sundays game was suspended after three innings with the Tourists leading 2-0.

A (Short Season) – Tri-City: L 4-2, L 6-5 (5-5)

Russell Wilson, Chandler Laurent, and Mark Tracy each had two hits for the Dust Devils on Saturday. Tracys double was the only extra-base hit, though, and Tri-City was held scoreless for the first seven innings on their way to the loss. Starter Edwar Cabrera allowed four runs on five hits in five innings. He was done in by a three-run homer, but seemed to have pitched pretty well other than that, as he struck out four batters. Eric Federico tossed three innings of scoreless relief, allowing the Dust Devils the opportunity for a rally.

Tri-City suffered a walk-off loss on Sunday, as Billy Vopinek gave up a single, a walk, and a double, and threw a wild pitch in between. The double scored both of the runs that Salem-Keizer needed to win the ballgame. Erik Stavert started the game and allowed a run on four hits and struck out three in four innings. Casey Weathers made an appearance as well, tossing a scoreless eighth to pick up the hold. Chandler Laurent added two more hits to his tally – both triples.

Rookie – Casper: L 4-3, W 15-9 (6-2)

Corey Dickerson went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and Anthony Aguilera had a couple of singles in four at-bats for the Ghosts, but it wasnt enough to avoid the walk-off loss in Saturdays game. Alejandro Barraza allowed two runs on five hits in five innings, but the bullpen combination of Nelson Gonzalez and Clinton McKinney couldnt hold the lead.

Sunday was a different story entirely, as the Ghosts pounded out 21 hits and made some bad-looking ERAs on Ogdens staff look even worse. Four different Casper players had three hits in the game, including Dickerson, who hit his third home run of the season, and Brett Tanos, who also homered. In addition, Juan Crousset went 2-for-5 with a home run. In all, everybody in the starting lineup had at least one hit, and all but one player had at least two. Alving Mejias picked up the victory by going five innings and allowing four earned runs on six hits, while striking out five.

The Rangers have won 13 of 14, and are off today before starting a 3 game set against the Angels on Tuesday.

Anthony Andros game story talks about Roy Oswalt being knocked around by the team that is trying to trade for him, and Josh Hamilton adding one more chapter to his legacy with the second-longest homer in TBIA history.

Chris Cox also talked about the Oswalt/Rangers dynamic, and how Oswalt was out-pitched by Tommy Hunter, who went to 4-0 on the season.

Evan Grants post-game notes talk a lot about Hamilton, but also about the job Matt Treanor has done and how the defense has been playing at a high level.

Yesterday was only the 19th time Oswalt has failed to go five innings in a start in his major league career.

William Wilkersons notes include praise for Oswalt from Ron Washington, and Darren Oliver saying hes not expecting to go to the All Star Game.

Vladimir Guerrero says hes not sure what sort of reception hell get tomorrow, when he returns to Anaheim.

And Scott McCoy has a story about Michael Young becoming the Rangers all time hit king.