The Whole Delivery

Quick news runthrough here: Getty Images' Joe Robbins A common sense move that needed to happen seems on the verge of being official : There are indications that manager Reds Dusty Baker will sign a contract extension, and that it will happen soon. The Dayton Daily News reported Thursday that Baker and the club were close to a deal that would bring back the 61-year-old skipper. Baker, the Reds' manager since 2008, was offered a new deal in mid-August but has refused to speak publicly about negotiations. The offer was believed to be for at least two seasons. He earned around $10.5 million during his current three-year deal. Alberto Contador really brought a needed level of integrity to the sport of cycling, didn't he? News on the Jets front, as they signed Trevor Pryce away from the Ravens today , while Darelle Revis has been ruled out against the Bills this weekend . David Stern really does represent his last name : Washington Wizards majority owner Ted Leonsi...

The Redskins demand that Mr. Weight Loss Program be given an MRI on his left knee : Even as the Washington Redskins ordered an MRI exam on Albert Haynesworth's sore left knee, coach Mike Shanahan gave yet another reason why he is adamant about having the two-time All-Pro defensive tackle pass the team's conditioning test. Haynesworth, according to the coach, missed way too many practices last season. "I've got all the stats in there, how many games he played where he didn't practice throughout the whole week," Shanahan said. "If you don't practice, you're not going to play well. ... My job is to make sure he can play the best once we start our season, and that's to get him in football shape. We'll make sure when he is ready to go, he can go full speed." Other training camp injury news on Elvis Dumervil (not good), Antonio Bryant , and Atari Bigby , No one in Kansas City will feel sad to see Jose Gullien go . It is a a shame...

One of the legends of the game, especially at the safety position, has passed away just now at age 61 : Jack Tatum, one of the most feared tacklers in NFL history, died Tuesday, his alma mater, Ohio State University, announced. He was 61. "We have lost one of our greatest Buckeyes," Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel said in a statement. "When you think of Ohio State defense, the first name that comes to mind is Jack Tatum. His loss touches every era of Ohio State players and fans." Tatum was a two-time All-American at Ohio State, where he began his career as a running back before moving to safety. The Oakland Raiders selected Tatum in the first round of the 1971 NFL Draft and he spent nine seasons with the team. He finished his NFL career with the Houston Oilers in 1980. Tatum made three Pro Bowls during his 10-year career. He is a member of the Ohio State and college football halls of fame. TWD Condolences are in store for this Raiders legends, as cer...

Jonathan Toews is seriously threatening Sidney Crosby in my mind as the man in Canada. And yeah for Marian Hossa!

They finally did show up, especially Byfuglien :

Claude Giroux goal in sudden death overtime goal delivered the Philadelphia Flyers a much needed win in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks. Despite failing behind 3-0 against Boston and coming back to win, they did not want to fall in that hole again and try to come back from that. And with Giroux's goal, they don't have to even worry about such a daunting scenario again. It's a series again, through all of the games have been outstanding so far.

Photo from NHL.com 2 games away from a long awaited title , but the Flyers have been break neck close these games. By the way, the ratings have been really good for these finals . Shame they now will go on Versus, a channel people still don't know where the heck it is at, if they even have it.

First Stanley Cup in 18 years, and he did it again!

Photo from Getty Images' Julie Jacobson Brian Rafalski's two goal, one assist performance and Ryan Miller's outstanding goaltending has given the U.S. a massive 5-3 over home nation Canada in the preliminary round of men's hockey at 2012 Winter Olympics. The former New Jersey Devil set the tempo for the night by scoring just 41 seconds into the contest. Little did anyone know that the Americans would never trail in this contest. That startling detail was thanks in part to Miller outperforming Rafalski's former club teammate, the great Martin Brodeur. The Buffalo Sabres keeper was superb in handling the likes of Sidney Crosby and Jerome Iginla, though the latter far from resembled his world class goal scoring form making him one of the NHL's best forwards in the last decade. That lack of finishing for Canada, along with the obvious pressure of being the host nation, was too much for Mike Babcock's team to handle. And discussion will be bubbling throu...

It was a wild weekend in sports, and it should be a wild week ahead: Last week, the press conference: And now, it leads to the return against his second professional team tonight . It certainly will be a must see tonight. Lost in the big sports weekend was the fact that Rafael Nadal ended the tennis season on a high, as Spain repeated as Davis Cup champion by beating the Czech Republic, sweeping them in Madrid 5-0. The crucial match in the tie was the second match, where Radek Stepanek had totally dominated David Ferrer in the first two sets. But despite just winning three out of the first 15 games of the match, the diminutive Spaniard came back and won 8-6 in the final set to virtually insure that they would retain the title. Here is the clinching moment: Probably the only fun thing about the "Blazers- Rockets Oh no for Greg Oden" game for a neutral, since the Blazers did win: I know it probably happens to many, but that is too fun to see. Alex Ovechkin is returning tonight...

From Timesonline.com The great Allen Iverson tenure has thankfully ended in Memphis . Stephen Jackson is also thankfully gone from the Warriors and traded to the Bobcats. Will be interesting to see where he plays since Gerald Wallace the unquestioned 3 on that team. I guess he'll be the 2, since I don't know how Gerald Henderson starts ahead of him with how big Jackson's contract is. Novak Djokovic has won back to back tournaments, including the BNP Paribas Masters final thriller over junior friend Gael Monfils . Tennis.com's enjoyable Steve Tignor with a fine review : They’ve played better matches, but this tournament was a step forward for each guy. If Monfils can give us this much substance in the future, if he can find his way through the close ones, I won’t complain about the pointless flash, the empty calories anymore—I’ll be able to say “that’s Gael being Gael” with a smile rather than a sigh. And really, would we want to see the guy intentionally not hit a foreh...

Photo from NHL.com In one of the greatest games in NHL history, congrats to the Pittsburgh Pirates in winning the Stanley Cup in an upset over the Detroit Red Wings. Unbelievable, and I have been slamming hockey hard.

ESPN with the preview: Like many others, I just feel that the Red Wings are slightly the better team, and that with the home ice advantage, the title is really there's for good at the end of the night. I don't think the Penguins can play any worse than they did in Game 5, especially Marc-Andre Fleury. But for the second straight year, and in even more painful fashion (though last year ended at Game 6 on their home ice unlike this time), they will play bridesmaid to another title in "hockeytown." (The game is tonight at 8, on NBC)

Photo from Google By the time the NFL season roles around, there will be like 50 anchors and 100 analysts on their set. Because it seems everyday, there goes that network adding another person to an already crowded roster. Or, in today's case, people. Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison have apparently signed on to become part of the Peacock's Sunday night crew coming this fall (it's not that far away). And there's reports that they let Jerome Bettis go. Bettis didn't really provide much though, and that was with the Steerlers winning the title last season. And speaking of Pittsburgh, as the previous sports thread indicated , The Penguins have made it a series now by beating the Red Wings 4-2 to make it 2-1. And I definitely take back what I said about Crosby, because he is getting targeted by Zetterberg and crew throughout the game, opening it up for Evegeny Malkin to do his thing (and that rare hockey analysis from me was really ESPN's Barry Melrose's view). I ...

Photo from the great Harry How at Getty Images Can the penguins make this series? or will they fall behind 2-0 like they did last year, and really placed themselves up again it. We'll see.

Illustration from ESPN.com It's the rematch everyone in the league wanted, as the Detroit Red Wings try to go for the franchise's 12th title against a Penguin team hungry to lift the Stanley Cup for the first time in 16 years ESPN's asked their analysts eight key questions in the series, including this first one : 1. Which captain makes the bigger contribution in this series? Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom or Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby? Burnside: Got to go with Crosby, who leads the NHL in points (tied with teammate Evgeni Malkin) and goals, especially given that Lidstrom is just now returning to the lineup for Game 1 after missing the past two games of the Western Conference finals with a lower-body injury. Hradek: Being the offensive threat, Crosby's contributions likely will be more tangible. And, as usual, his every move will be under the microscope. He has taken his total game to another level during the first three rounds of the playoffs, but the challenge wi...

From the NHL.com Though more people will still probably end up watching Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, love must be given to hockey's biggest stage. It's a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup finals, as the Pittsburgh Penguins look to get revenge on the Detroit Red Wings. Can Sid the Kid break through and beat the powerful Wings? We'll see. Here's Obama's weekly address, and Susan G says it correctly: Obama is coming out swinging for Sotomayor : And the Saturday agenda can't be complete without.......Luda! Saturday (Oooh! Ooooh!) - Ludacris